For the Mission
by AeroJester203
Summary: He woke up on the shore. He had made it. He was separated from his partner, but he made it. But when a chance encounter throws a wrench in his plans, and suddenly being transformed into a Pikachu after the accident caused by that shadow in their travel on top of that, how will he set out to complete his mission now? Mystery Dungeon: Explorers AU, main character has memories, R&R.
1. Chapter 1: The Stranger on the Shore

**I came up with this alternate re-telling of PMD: Explorers at the risk of seeming like I'm recycling ideas, because I couldn't let it go. This time, it'll be more focused on the main story. There are heavy spoilers all throughout, and, even in the beginning, several key plot points in the game are implied. Spoiler warnings: if you care, then make sure you've played the game first, or read my first fanfiction, "A New Life" (it's not the ****_exact_**** same, but it's close). Or, if you're one of those people who just don't give a hoot about spoilers, then the story's right here.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1: The Stranger on the Shore<span>

A storm raged above a small town in the world of Pokémon. Most were curious about it; there were almost never any storms. Most simply dismissed it as bad weather and tried to ignore it as they went to sleep for the night.

However, unknown to the residents of the town, there were two figures trying to weather this storm, one taller than the other. The shorter one gritted his teeth; they had not expected to arrive in the middle of a thunderstorm. Of all the rotten luck!

However, the storm above the town was nothing compared to the storm that they were experiencing as they traveled. Trying to hold onto each other, after a particularly close blast of lightning, the tall one's grip started slipping from the other's hand.

Turning his head, the latter yelled out, "No! Don't let go! Just a little longer… Come on! Hang on!"

Breathing heavily, the companion said, "N-n-no! I can't… hold on…!"

The shorter one only had a moment to be confused at his partner's change in tone before he was swung around, with his partner's back facing a massive blast of energy that had been behind him before. Even though he was mostly shielded, he still felt the blast of energy past his partner's body.

He screamed out, and briefly registered his partner's grip slipping from around him before he too passed out.

* * *

><p>The following day, on the shore of a beach near Treasure Town, a lone figure washed up on the shore. After a while, the figure started groaning and trying to wake up.<p>

"Where am I…?" he murmured. What had happened? He remembered seeing a shadow, but he hadn't been able to see anything else before acting on instinct.

Trying to get up, he winced in pain and immediately fell to the ground, the action costing him the last bit of energy that he had. Shortly after he fell back to the ground, he passed out again.

* * *

><p>As the sun set over Treasure Town, a lone Pokémon paced back and forth in front of an odd building that resembled the Pokémon, Wigglytuff. On each side of the building, there was a burning torch and a totem pole carved to represent various Pokémon. She glanced nervously at the building as she stopped pacing.<p>

"Hmm…" The Eevee resumed her pacing for a bit before turning back to face the iron gate in the tent-like building. Her brow furrowed slightly in determination as she said, "No. I refuse to be paralyzed by this any longer! This is it. Today I'm going to be brave."

She moved towards the gate, but she stepped on a wooden grate on her way over and she yelped as a high-pitched voice shouted, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

A lower voice shouted, "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!"

The Eevee screamed as she jumped back off of the grate. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before sighing and saying, "…I can't… I can't bring myself to go in. I vowed that I would do it today, but…"

She took a rock out of a small cloth sack at her side and held it in her paw. "I thought that holding on to my personal treasure would inspire me…" She put the rock back in the bag and sighed again, "…I just can't do it. I'm such a coward… This is so discouraging…"

Being plagued with negative thoughts, the Eevee turned away from the odd building and walked down the stairs of the cliff.

After she left, two Pokémon, a Koffing and a Zubat, came out of their hiding place behind one of the totem poles.

"Hey, Zubat. Did you get a load of that?"

"You bet I did, Koffing."

Koffing raised an eyebrow, "That little wimp that was pacing around… had something good, right?"

Zubat nodded, "That wimp had something, that's for sure. It looked like some kind of treasure."

"Do we go after it?" Koffing asked with a sideways glance.

"We do."

* * *

><p>As the Eevee left the cliff, her feet carried her towards the beach by themselves. As she arrived, there were bubbles floating around in the air. She gave a happy sigh at the beautiful sight of the bubbles catching the setting sun's rays, making them appear rainbow. She had been hoping that the weather would be good enough after last night's storm for the Krabby to come out and blow the bubbles.<p>

The calming experience was somewhat interrupted as she thought aloud, "This is where I always come when I'm feeling down on myself." Then the Eevee smiled, "But it makes me feel good to be here, like always. Coming here heals my spirits."

As her sight swept over the waves to take in all of the sight, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Something that shouldn't have been there; she had been there tons of times, she knew what was and wasn't supposed to be on the beach.

Moving closer to investigate, she shouted in surprise and started moving faster. There was somebody passed out on the shore!

* * *

><p>"What happened?! Are you okay?"<p>

The voice roused the castaway out of his unconscious state. After waking up, he sat up and held his head as he tried to shake off his fatigue. The instant he opened his eyes, he shut them again with a grunt. But then he froze. Were those ocean waves? Was that a sea breeze on his face? Forcing his eyes open, despite the light, he saw the sunset and the bubbles from the Krabby floating over the ocean waves.

The Pokémon next to him was speaking, but he paid her no mind. These were things that he had never known in his entire life. Seeing them now all at once practically made his mind go blank. After a short while staring at the scene before him, once his eyes had adjusted, he started registering the voice that was speaking to him.

"…re you okay? Why are you crying?"

Crying? He put a hand to his face and found the wetness, but when he ran his hand over his cheek, he felt a zapping sensation. Pulling his hand away, he was as surprised at the lack of pain as the actual act of getting shocked. Once he pulled his hand away, he noticed that it was much smaller than he remembered… And much more yellow.

He looked at the Pokémon next to him for the first time, an Eevee, and he was puzzled. Shouldn't he be towering over this Pokémon, not at about the same height? As he put two and two together, his eyes widened.

'Stay calm,' he thought. Pulling himself up, he found a puddle of seawater trapped in a shallow dip in the sand. He walked over methodically and looked at his reflection. It wasn't perfect, but he got the general outline and the message. He was no longer a human. He took a good look at his entire body; it would seem that he'd been turned into a Pikachu.

Taking a deep breath, he thought, 'Don't freak out.' His partner had always told him that freaking out never solved anything. All it would achieve would be wasting time and energy that he could devote-

"Um, excuse me. You seem to be a bit shocked."

'Understatement of the century,' he thought before turning around. The Eevee was looking at him, a little concerned, "Do you have any idea how you ended up unconscious out here?"

He crossed his now smaller arms and thought about it before saying, "I don't remember." Technically true; he couldn't remember every detail about how he came to be here since he was passed out for most of it. He had a solid grasp on the important things, though. Who he was, his closest friends, his mission…

His thoughts darkened at that, 'This might be a kinder time, but it might not be so kind once they find out what we're doing here, my partner and I…'

The Eevee was unaware of the Pikachu's thoughts as she continued, "Well, I'm Martha. Happy to meet you! And who are you? I don't think I've seen you around before."

'Not very surprising considering where I came from.' He wasn't sure how much he could trust this Pokémon. Picking his words carefully, he said, "My name is Ian. I'm afraid that I can't remember who I am." He looked down as he continued, "Whatever knocked me out must've given me amnesia…"

Martha seemed to think for a moment before nodding, "Okay. Well, you don't seem to be a bad Pokémon, at least. More and more bad Pokémon have been turning up lately, you see. A lot of Pokémon have gotten aggressive lately. It's just not safe anymore."

After briefly marveling at the Eevee's readily given trust, Ian's thoughts took a dark turn. 'So it's already started… I feel bad for giving a fake name to this random Pokémon, she seems real nice, after all, but this just shows that I need to get moving, regardless of my state and find-' Noticing something rushing up behind Martha, Ian was about to say something to warn her, but she was knocked from behind and into him. Something fell out of a bag at her side.

Koffing said, "Well, I _do_ beg your pardon."

Martha growled and turned around, yelling, "Hey! Why'd you do that?!"

"Heh-heh-heh! Can't figure it out?" Zubat chuckled. "We wanted to mess with you! Can't face up to us, can you?"

Any and all hints of Martha about to fight back vanished as she said, "Wh-what?!" Zubat turned towards the object that fell on the ground, "That's yours, isn't it?"

"Oh! That's…!"

"Sorry, kiddo," Zubat said in a tone that showed he wasn't the least bit sorry. "We'll take that!" He took the rock in between his feet and flew back up with it.

Koffing laughed, "Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get it back? What's the matter? Too scared? I didn't expect that you'd be such a big coward!" He turned to Zubat, "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Zubat chuckled, "See you around, chicken. Heh-heh-heh."

During the whole interaction, the Krabby had stopped blowing bubbles and fled. Also, "Ian's" temper had been mounting. The Sableye had always picked on the native Pokémon back in his home, just because they could. Seeing a similar behavior here, despite his original plan to move on, it simply made him start seeing red.

After Zubat's final remark, the two Pokémon started moving to leave towards the cave at the end of the beach, but he sidestepped to stand in their way. With his cheeks sparking due to his new Pokémon instincts, he said in a dangerously low tone, "Excuse me, but you must be a pretty sorry bunch if it takes both of you to pick on a lady. I may not remember who I am, but I know that I don't like Pokémon like you. If I were you, I'd just put down that item and leave quietly before I make you."

Koffing and Zubat stared at him for a second before laughing. "Whoa-ho-ho! This puny Pikachu is trying to be all noble!"

"Heh-heh-heh! Well, if you want it back that badly… Just try to come and get it!"

'Very well, you asked for it.' That last remark eroded away the last bit of hesitance Ian had for getting involved in this conflict. Instinctively concentrating, he released the electricity stored in his cheeks at the Zubat. The Thunder Shock attack hit dead on, zapping Zubat, but doing no harm to the rock held between his feet. He spasmed as he fell to the ground, temporarily paralyzed by the electricity.

"Zubat!" Koffing turned to Ian, "Why you…!"

Ian just got ready to attack again instead of bantering. He suddenly felt a paw at his side, and new energy surged through him as a colorful aura surrounded him. At his side, Martha had her paw on him, using Helping Hand to boost the energy of his moves.

"I'll help too," she said. "Zubat won't stay down for long. I'll finish him off." Martha ran off towards Zubat, who was already getting up and flying again. Turning his attention back to Koffing, Ian was just in time to dodge a Poison Gas attack.

Tapping into the new energy along with his natural electricity, Ian shot another Thunder Shock and took Koffing down in one shot as Martha jumped and used Tackle to finish Zubat.

The two Pokémon were down on the ground and they groaned in pain. They managed to pull themselves up again and glared at Ian and Martha.

Koffing muttered, "B-blast it… How'd we get wiped out by wimps like them?"

"Bah!" Zubat shouted. "Here you go. Take it, then!" He threw the rock at Martha's feet.

The two of them started backing away and Koffing said, "Whoa-ho! Don't think you're so awesome. Your victory was a fluke!"

They ran off, and Zubat shouted, "Yeah, you just remember that!"

Martha picked up the rock and said, "My Relic Fragment! Thank goodness… I actually managed to get it back." She turned to me and smiled, "This happened only because you helped me, Ian. Thank you!"

'I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,' he thought. 'I suppose that there's no harm in it. Now I can move on, but first…'

Ian tilted his head, "You called that item your Relic Fragment? What's that about?"

Martha set it down on the ground, "Well, that's what I started calling it. It's my precious treasure." She smiled, "You see, I've always liked legends and lore… I always get so excited when I hear tales from the past! Don't you feel the same way?"

Having to squash a chuckle at the absolute irony of the question, Ian merely nodded in response as Martha went on, "Hidden troves full of treasure and strange relics…" Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked at the setting sun over the waves, "…uncharted territories veiled in darkness… and new lands just waiting to be discovered! Such places must be full of gold and treasure! And history! Wouldn't it be dramatic to make historic discoveries?"

Turning back to Ian, she said, "That's what I always dream of. It's all so exciting to me. And it just so happened… that I found this Relic Fragment. Sure, it does look like junk, but take a closer look."

Curious, Ian leaned closer to the stone, and saw a peculiar pattern on the flat surface on top of the Relic Fragment. He had never seen anything like it, even with all of the research he had done with his partner and best friend.

"Look there," Martha said. "See that strange pattern inscribed on it?" Ian nodded, and she continued, "There must be _some_ meaning to this pattern. This Relic Fragment must be the key to legendary places! To areas where precious treasure lies! At least that's the feeling I get. That's why I want to join an exploration team."

'Right, they still have those here.' Ian thought, remembering his studies. Then he internally grimaced, 'All of ours were promptly executed or they disbanded to go into hiding.'

Unaware, Martha said, "This fragment must fit into something… somewhere! I want to discover where that is. I want to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment! So, earlier, I tried joining an exploration team as an apprentice…" She looked to the side with a slightly sad expression, "But… I was too cowardly…" Turning back to Ian, she said, "What about you, Ian? What are you going to do now? You lost your memory. Do you have any place where you can stay?"

Ian was suddenly more cautious. He didn't like the direction that this conversation was heading.

"If not, can I ask a big favor? Would you form an exploration team with me? I think we could make a good exploration team together, Ian. So will you do that with me? Please?"

Ian tried to think of a way out of this. Yes, he had a place to be and someone to meet, but he couldn't tell her that. Not only would it nullify his earlier claim of amnesia, it would also cause a bunch of questions that might result in him having to go into hiding. Trying to buy a bit of time, he said, "Are you…?"

Martha looked confused, "Huh? Am I what? What do you mean, 'Are you…?'"

Having a bit more time to think while she asked, Ian said, "You're trying to talk me into it?"

She seemed shocked, "What?! Talk you into it? The thought never crossed my mind!" One look at her face told Ian that she was telling the truth. Every emotion was clearly displayed on her face. She probably couldn't tell an effective lie if she tried.

Sighing, Martha looked down and said, "Well, I'm a complete coward… Honestly… I mean, yes, I thought I could depend on you, Ian… But during the fight with Koffing and Zubat earlier… Having you there with me, I felt really brave. I think I could do anything as long as you're helping me, Ian. So come on, I'm begging you. Let's form an exploration team, you and me."

Letting out a mental sigh, Ian saw that she would probably follow him until he said yes. So he decided to play along until he could find a way to contact his partner.

Nodding, Ian said, "All right then, I don't see why not. I'll gladly form an exploration team with you, Martha."

Martha smiled, "Oh? Really?! Yay! Thank you! We're going to be a great combination! Let's make this work!" She looked and Ian followed her gaze to see a tall cliff next to a town further inland. "First, we need to go to Wigglytuff's place and sign up as apprentices. That's where we can get training to become a proper exploration team. I think the training will be very tough… So let's give it our best, Ian!"

Ian watched as she cheered and jumped for joy. 'Pokémon like her… for them to be able to express so openly and cheerfully… and for the beauty of the sunset that I saw when I first opened my eyes… This is why I came back. Why my partner and I came back to this time. These things are what we are fighting for.'


	2. Chapter 2: Forming a Team

Chapter 2: Forming a Team

Ian followed Martha up the stairs of the cliff and they both stopped in front of the Wigglytuff-looking tent with the iron gate. Martha turned to him and said, "This is Wigglytuff's Guild. To form an exploration team, you need to register your team here. Then you have to train until you become a first-rate exploration team."

She turned back to the building and shuddered, "Isn't this place just a little bit odd? It just is!"

Ian looked at the guild as well. It was about as threatening as a ball of fluff compared to the things he'd seen. Putting that aside, he said, "I can't argue that it isn't odd-looking, but it's nothing to be scared of."

Martha turned to him and then nodded, "Y-you're right. I have to be brave." She stepped forward and when she stepped on the grate, a voice shouted up, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!"

Martha yelped, but managed to stay in place this time. 'I can't lose it now,' she thought.

After a brief pause, the second, lower voice said, "You may ENTER! Someone's with you! So get that stranger to stand up THERE!"

Martha hurried off the grate and said, "I think they mean you, Ian. They said to stand up there."

Ian looked down at the grate covering the hole in the ground. From the previous conversation, he assumed that somebody down in the hole identified Pokémon by the footprint. Shrugging, Ian stepped on the grate as well.

The same conversation ensued, but there seemed to be a problem.

* * *

><p>Down in the hole, a small Pokémon was staring at the footprint that he saw, trying to figure out who it belonged to.<p>

"The footprint is… The footprint is… Um…"

Down the passageway, a voice shouted, "What's the matter?! Sentry! Sentry?! What's wrong, sentry Diglett?"

Diglett thought hard about what he was looking at, "Umm… Er… Umm… The footprint is… Maybe Pikachu's! Maybe Pikachu's!"

"What?! MAYBE?!"

Diglett sweat a bit as he tried to defend his response, "B-but… It's not a footprint that you normally see around here…"

The voice down the hall was not appeased, "UGH! That's pretty crummy! Checking the footprints of visiting Pokémon… That's you job, ISN'T it, Diglett?"

Diglett replied, "Yes, but… I don't know what I don't know."

* * *

><p>Ian was starting to feel a little awkward still standing on the grate as he was listening in on the two Pokémons' discussion.<p>

Martha leaned closer to the grate, "What? Are they arguing?"

She abruptly leaned back away when the low voice spoke up, "…Sorry to make you WAIT. Well, it's TRUE that you don't see any Pikachu in these parts… But you don't SEEM to be bad… Okay, good enough! ENTER!"

Martha jumped back as there was a rumbling sound and the gate of the building opened. "I'm so nervous, but I'm glad we're finally allowed in. My heart's pounding, though…" She gingerly stepped forward, "Anyway, let's go."

The two of them walked side-by side into the tent and saw a ladder that led underground. Martha marveled at the sight before the two of them climbed down. Once they reached the bottom, they were in a room that had two boards with, presumably, missions on them. Pokémon were all around in the room, some looking at the boards, and others discussing among themselves.

"Wow!" Martha said as they looked around, "So this is Wigglytuff's Guild! There are sure a lot of Pokémon here. Do they all belong to exploration teams?"

A voice called out, "Excuse me!" Ian and Martha turned and saw a Chatot coming from the ladder that led down further into the guild. He walked up and said, "It was you two that just came in, right?"

Martha stood up straight and said, "Y-yes!"

"I'm Chatot! I'm the Pokémon in the know around these parts. I am Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right-hand Pokémon. Now, shoo! Leave the premises! We have no time for salespeople or silly surveys. Off you go, if you please!"

Shaking her head, Martha said, "N-no! That's not why we're here! We want to form an exploration team… So we came here. We want to get proper training as an exploration team."

Chatot's eyes widened, "Wh-what?! Exploration team?"

He turned around thinking out loud, "It's rare to see a kid like this want to apprentice at the guild. Especially given how hard our training is! Surely the steady stream of Pokémon that run away from our rigorous training proves how true that is!"

Both Ian and Martha could clearly hear him. "Excuse me," Martha said worriedly. "Is the exploration team training really that harsh?"

"What?!" Chatot abruptly turned around, apparently surprised that he'd been heard, "Well… no! No, no, no! It's not true in the slightest! Our training program for exploration teams is as easy as can be!" He calmed down and smiled, "Well, well, well! I wish you had told me up front that you wanted to be an exploration team! Hee-heeee!"

The two Pokémon were slightly weirded out by Chatot's demeanor. Martha murmured, "What a shift in attitude…"

Not hearing, Chatot said, "Okay! Let's get your team signed up right away. Follow me!" He started walking away and Ian followed, but Martha looked a little shell-shocked. Chatot turned around and spotted her, "Oh, anything wrong? Come on! Over here! Quickly, please."

Once they moved down the ladder, Chatot said, "This is the guild's second underground floor. This is mainly where the apprentices work. Team registration is this way. Come along, please." The three of them walked to their left and Martha caught sight of the window and ran to get a closer look.

"Wow! We're two floors underground, but you can see outside!"

Chatot groaned and said, "Oh, please! Hush now! The guild is built into the side of a cliff. It's only natural that you would be able to see outside."

As Martha nodded and returned to the group, Ian assumed that Chatot had to explain that to a lot of new apprentices. Regardless, Chatot continued, "Now, here we are at Guildmaster Wigglytuff's chamber. On no account… I repeat, on no account should you be discourteous to our Guildmaster."

He turned towards the door and called, "Guildmaster! It's Chatot! I'm coming in!" Once he opened the door, the three Pokémon walked in and saw Wigglytuff standing and facing the back of the room, and Chatot said, "Guildmaster! I present to you two Pokémon who wish to join our guild as apprentices."

After a while of no response, Chatot said, "Guildmaster… um… Guildmaster?"

Wigglytuff abruptly turned around and said, "Hiya! I'm Wigglytuff! I'm the guild's Guildmaster!"

While Martha was slightly intimidated by Wigglytuff's presence, Ian stood there dumbfounded. 'You're kidding me… _This_ is a leader of leaders? The leader of the best of the best guilds that trains exploration teams…?' Ian had read about some of the discoveries that Wigglytuff's Guild had made in his research of the past. To see that the leader was so… child-like, it was a bit disappointing to say the least. He knew, however, that saying that out loud would get both him and Martha swiftly kicked out, so he kept his thoughts to himself and recomposed his face into his usual passive expression.

"You want to form an exploration team? Then, let's go for it! First we must register your exploration team's name! So tell me your team's name?"

Martha said, "Oh? Our team's name? I didn't think about a team name." She turned to Ian, "What do you think would be a good name for us, Ian?"

Ian raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was asking him, but gave the question some thought anyway. He picked the name of a somewhat noteworthy exploration team that he had read about before.

"Team Rapid."

Martha thought about it for a bit, repeating the name to herself. "Team Rapid… I like it! It's a good name! It's perfect for us!"

It was the name of a team that had fallen into disgrace and then obscurity soon after formation, but it wouldn't be formed for another five years from now. That entry would either stay the same or it would change. It all depended on Martha.

Wigglytuff clapped his hands, "All settled, then! I'll register your team as Rapid." He sang, "Registering~ Registering~" Then he said, "All registered…" and shouted, "YOOM… TAH!"

There was a flash of white light as Wigglytuff shouted, and after it faded, he threw his hands up in celebration, "Congratulations! From now on, you're an official exploration team! I present you with this in commemoration." He took a golden box out and put it on the ground in front of Ian and Martha.

Martha's eyes widened in recognintion, "A Pokémon Exploration Team Kit?"

"Yup," Wigglytuff nodded. "It's what every exploration team needs. Quick, open it up." Martha did so, and there were two Explorer Badges, a Wonder Map and a Treasure Bag inside.

Martha's eyes sparkled, "Yes! There are all sorts of great items in here!"

Ian already knew what all of these items were for, so he tuned out Wigglytuff's explanation to do some thinking. 'How can I contact my partner? If I don't find him soon, he might assume the worst and carry on the mission without me. Should I try sneaking out at night when everybody's sleeping? Sentries need sleep too… Maybe I could-'

His thoughts were cut short as the Treasure Bag was put over his shoulder. He shouted in surprise, but Martha said, "One of us has to carry the Treasure Bag, and I think it should be you."

Before Ian could offer any protest, Martha gave him a flat stare and held her front paw up. Ian looked at it and then looked at his own hand. Like his former hand, it had fingers and a thumb. Small ones, but they were definitely there. He nodded and said, "Point taken."

Wigglytuff chimed in, "Have a peek inside your Treasure Bag." Ian opened the flap of the Treasure Bag, which had his Explorer Badge attached to it, and saw a Zinc Band and a Blue Bow. Wigglytuff continued, "Those two items are special. I'm sure they will help you on your adventures!"

Martha bowed her head, "Th-thank you! We'll do our best!"

Wigglytuff nodded, "Yup. But you're only apprenticing right now. So do your best… to train!"

She nodded back, "We will!" She turned to Ian, "Let's always do our best, Ian!" After Ian nodded, Martha cheered and he raised his badge in acknowledgement.

Chatot led them out of the room and down a hallway to the end and said, "This is your room." Martha stepped forward onto a pile of straw and said, "Yay! We get beds!"

Ian, however, stepped on his pile of straw gingerly. It was soft. He along with his partner often had to sleep directly on the ground since no plants grew anymore. And they could never sleep for very long. The sense of comfort was completely foreign to him.

"You will live here while you work for us. Things will start getting busy for you tomorrow! So rise early and start living up to our code. Don't stay up late. Get to sleep early tonight! That is all." He left the room and night fell upon Treasure Town shortly after.

In the room, Martha slept curled up with her tail wrapped around her body while Ian rested on his back, having to move his tail out of the way after the first time he tried laying back.

After a few moments of silence, Martha spoke up, "Say, are you still awake, Ian?" Ian grunted in affirmation and she continued, "My heart's been racing all day… But I'm glad I finally forced myself to come here. I thought Wigglytuff would be kind of scary, but he was pretty nice. We'll experience all sorts of new stuff starting tomorrow, but I'm not very frightened. Actually, I can't wait to find out what new adventures are in store for us! I'm getting a little sleepy… Let's give it our all tomorrow. Okay, Ian. Sleep tight."

Martha's breathing evened out as she fell asleep, but Ian stayed wide awake, even though his eyes were closed. He was biding his time. After an hour or so, he opened his eyes and stood up. Checking to make sure that Martha was asleep, he started moving quietly out of the room.

Ian wasn't going to sneak out tonight. He had _no _idea where his partner was at. Leaving tonight would get him nowhere except in trouble. Moving stealthily, he was trying to scope out a way that he could sneak out if and when he needed to.

As he passed two branching paths in the hallway he'd been led down, he heard a loud snoring sound coming from his left. He ignored it, surmising that the two rooms were the quarters of other Pokémon living here. Moving into the main room, Ian passed by Wigglytuff's chambers and gave a curiously shaped booth on his right a passing glance before moving to the room across from the hall that led to his room. Once inside, he saw a long table with several barrels of berries and apples.

'This must be where everyone gathers to eat. Unimportant.' He took note of the two windows in the room, but all that was on the other side was about a twenty-five to thirty foot drop. He left the room and moved up the ladder to the first sublevel. Finding nothing besides two boards and an unattended desk, Ian started moving up the ladder to the exit, to see if he could get out through there.

Before he was even two steps up the ladder, a sharp voice spoke up, "Who goes there?!" There was the sound of flapping wings and Ian found himself face-to-face with a cross-looking Chatot.

Chatot glared at him, "You? Ugh, I understand that you're new and are probably excited to see the rest of the guild, but that can wait until the daytime! Go back to your room and go to sleep!" Chatot turned around and started flying back up the ladder, "Really, recruits these days, disturbing my sleep."

Hearing that, Ian knew that he'd find nothing right away. With Chatot being such a light sleeper and staying at the entrance and with no ways out through the windows that didn't involve a perilous climb, any efforts to find a way out tonight would just be a waste of time and energy.

With nothing else to do, he returned to his room and lay back on his bed. 'Since the front door is out, maybe I can investigate the underground floors more thoroughly in the coming nights. That way, once I find a lead, I can start heading out to find him.'

He gripped some of the straw that made up his bed. 'I will find you again, Grovyle. Count on it.'

With that final thought, Ian drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>A little bit shorter than the last chapter, but I hope it was good. Feel free to leave a review with any thoughts you might have.<strong>

**-AJ203**


	3. Chapter 3: From Humble Beginnings

**For _some_ reason, this chapter wouldn't show publicly, even though my manage stories tab still said it had three chapters, so I'm posting a second copy to try and get it back up. If the site fixes itself, then I'll just take this one down.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3: From Humble Beginnings<span>

Ian was sleeping on his bed as the sun started rising. Disturbed by the light, he woke up. His past experiences had made him a very light sleeper. Once he woke up, he saw the lightening sky and moved to stand at the window, trying to get a view of the sun rising.

As he stared at it, he thought, 'Such a simple, yet integral part of nature. It makes me sad that Celebi won't be able to see this.' His head dipped down as he remembered the quirky Pokémon that helped Grovyle and him come back to this time. She had put herself at a huge risk because, while he and Grovyle were in the past, their enemies would be looking for her.

But soon after he thought she might get captured, he chuckled, 'She would scold me for even thinking that she could get captured. She knew the risks; we all did. But we have to press on.' He looked back up just as the sun finished climbing above the horizon. 'We have to protect this.'

"YOU'RE up early."

Ian immediately whipped around on all fours and electricity buzzed across his cheeks at the unfamiliar voice. A large purple Pokémon in the doorway raised his arms in surprise, "WHOA! Take it EASY! I'm just another apprentice here. My name's Loudred!"

Stopping the electricity, Ian stood back on his hind legs and bowed his head, "I'm sorry. I just… _don't_ like others sneaking up on me."

Loudred calmed down, "S'okay, I get it. ANYWAY… Since you're up, you MIGHT wanna cover your ears."

Before Ian could ask why, Loudred started moving from the doorway to Martha's bed. She had been asleep through the sunrise and the short conversation that the two of them had. As Loudred took a firm stance with his arms raised at his side and took a deep breath, Ian saw what was coming and quickly pulled his ears down and held them to muffle his hearing.

"HEY! HEY THERE! RISE AND SHINE!"

Even with his ears covered, Ian still cringed at the volume of the sound. Martha, for her part, was blown out of her curled up position from the shockwave of Loudred's voice. She was sprawled on her side as she held her head, muttering, "M-my poor ears…"

Loudred stopped and turned to Ian, "Make sure the two of you get to the morning briefing. If you're late, you'll be SORRY." Then lowering his voice a bit he said, "Between you and me, Wigglytuff's got a BIG temper. My advice: do NOT make him lose it."

Ian nodded as he let go of his ears, and Loudred left as Martha was still recovering on the ground. Stepping over to Martha, Ian said, "We should get moving, there's a morning briefing we have to get to."

Martha shook the dizziness off, "Sorry? My ears were still ringing…"

Ian sighed; he hated having to repeat himself. He merely walked to his side of the room and picked up the Treasure Bag from where he had left it. After shouldering it, Ian walked by Martha, who was standing now, and put his hand on the back of her neck effectively guiding her out of the room.

As Martha took a good look around the hallway as they walked, the penny that was stuck in her drowsy mind finally dropped and she started rushing on her own. Ian easily kept pace and they met up with everybody else gathering in front of the Guildmaster's door. They managed to make it at around the same time that everybody finished lining up, taking a place at the end, closest to the hallway that they had come from.

As Martha rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she said, "Thanks, Ian. For a few moments I had forgotten what happened yesterday. We might've been late if you hadn't… been… up already?" After saying that, she seemed a bit miffed, "Wait, if you were up, why didn't you stop whoever shouted in my face?"

Chatot started speaking and Ian whispered, "We can discuss this later." Martha frowned, but they both listened as Chatot said, "Very well. Let us conduct our morning address." He turned to the door, "Guildmaster! The guild is in full attendance!"

After a brief second, the door to Wigglytuff's room opened, and he walked out. Chatot said, "Thank you, Guildmaster! Please address the crew."

His mouth started moving and everyone looked ready to listen, but Wigglytuff merely snored as he stood there sleeping with his eyes wide open.

Ian started hearing mumblings from the other apprentices, "Psst…! Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!"

"Yeah, you got that right!"

"Yup, looks like he's wide awake."

"Eek! His eyes are wide open! But he's fast asleep!"

Chatot seemed to notice that Wigglytuff was asleep, but he just said, "Thank you, sir! We all value your… words of wisdom!"

Chatot turned back to us, "Okay, Pokémon! Take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart! Finally, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now!"

Everyone cheered, "A ONE, A TWO… A ONE-TWO-THREE! ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK! TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!" There was a slight delay heard as Martha repeated the cheer enthusiastically a second after everybody else, and Ian mechanically repeated it as well.

"Okay, Pokémon! Get to work!"

Everyone cheered, "HOORAY!" Everyone except for Martha and Ian left for their posts. Martha looked at Ian, "Er… Ian? What should we do?"

Ian turned to Chatot, "Excuse me, Chatot? What are we supposed to do today?"

Chatot turned to face them, "Ah, yes. You two follow me." He led them up the ladder to the room that Ian had seen the night before with the two boards on the walls.

After he stopped, the two of them lined up side-by-side in front of one of board next to the ladder leading to the exit. Chatot faced the two of them and said, "You're just beginners. We'll have you start off with this assignment." He gestured with his wing to the board that had papers all over it, "This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokémon from various regions post job requests here. You're aware that bad Pokémon are cropping up in greater numbers, right?"

Martha nodded, "Yes. Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It's wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokémon are appearing."

The subject was a very sensitive one to Ian. He had to compose himself; he was just an amnesiac Pokémon that knew nothing about anything relating to this world.

Chatot nodded back, "Precisely. Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokémon. Perhaps because of all that… We have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition, and it's unknown if this is because of time's influence… There has also been a mass outbreak of mystery dungeons."

Martha turned to Ian and started explaining what a mystery dungeon was. Again, Ian already knew, but he pretended to listen with his full attention so he didn't expose himself.

After Martha finished her explanation, Chatot said with a smile, "Well! You're quite informed, aren't you? That makes things much easier for me to explain! Jobs all take place in mystery dungeons." He turned to look at the board, "So… let's look for a job that you should perform." After a few seconds, one seemed to catch his eye, "Ah, yes. Maybe this will do?"

Chatot took down one of the papers and handed it to us. Ian held it and Martha leaned over, "Oh, really? Let's read it!" The two of them read the letter silently.

_"__Hello! My name is Spoink!_

_"__An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession. My precious pearl! That pearl is life itself… to me! I just can't seem to settle down if that pearl isn't in its proper place atop my head! But I've heard that my pearl has been sighted! It's said to be on a rocky bluff. But this bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers! Would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl?_

_"__I beg your help, exploration team members!_

_"__-From Spoink"_

After they finished reading, Martha said, "Wait a second…" She got angry, "We're going to fetch an item that someone dropped? I'd rather go on a bigger adventure than that."

Ian could see both the faraway look on Martha's face developing, and Chatot beginning to get angry, so he cut in, "I hate to burst your bubble, Martha, but nobody starts out with big things like what you have in mind. That's like trying to move a massive boulder when you haven't even managed a small rock yet. Everybody starts out with baby steps."

Martha seemed put out, but Chatot calmed down a bit, though he still looked grumpy as he said, "Indeed. It's important that you rookies pay your dues! Now pay attention. I'll repeat the warnings to make sure they stick! You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if either of you faints. You'll lose half your money! And you could lose half your items or more! You'd best be careful! If you've understood all that, I suggest you get on with the job."

The two of them left the guild, Martha seeming more reluctant than Ian. On the way to the bluff, Ian took a good look at the two items that they had. From his knowledge of items, nothing was very useful to him. But he gave the Blue Bow to Martha to slightly boost the potency of her abilities and resistances. He thought about equipping the Zinc Band anyway, but shrugged and put it back in the bag.

After a few moments walking in silence, Martha said, "What was that back there, with Chatot?"

Ian shrugged, "I saw him getting angry, and I didn't feel like getting yelled at this morning. Simple as that."

"But… you were also looking out for me…? By keeping me from making Chatot angry?"

Ian looked up as he thought aloud, "I suppose you could look at it that way. You know where you want to get to, and that's great. But you also shouldn't run your mouth off. Sometimes, it's better to keep your thoughts to yourself. For example: arguing with the second-in-command. Bad move. I'm not saying to stop acting like yourself, just be careful what you say to whom. Also, I felt that you were a bit confused on the process of getting from point A to point B in your life goals. Like I said, nobody does stuff like treasure hunting first. So, I neutralized the situation while also reminding you of the reality of the situation."

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Martha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. A tad naïve, I suppose, but not stupid. You're informed about explorations and mystery dungeons, but have little real life experience in it. Also, I've noticed that you didn't have much discipline or adherence to authority. Did you grow up alone, by any chance?"

Martha stopped walking, "Hey! That's personal!"

Ian glanced back as he kept walking, "I'll take that as a yes."

Martha ran back up, "Well, how would you like it if I started asking _you_ personal questions?"

Remaining one step ahead, both literally and metaphorically, Ian smiled and said, "I wouldn't have any answers, remember?"

"Oh, right, amnesia," Martha said, seeming defeated. "If you have no memory, then how do you know so much?"

"Just because I don't remember anything about myself doesn't mean I don't know how to figure out things about others. I can't remember how I do; I just know it," Ian said, keeping to his amnesia cover-up. "And knowing what _not_ to say is common sense, Martha." Ian would be lying if he said he wasn't having a little fun needling Martha. There usually wasn't much time for banter when Grovyle and he were on the move, so it was nice to loosen up a bit, even if it was at her expense.

As Martha huffed, Ian thought, 'I should probably say something reassuring. Fun as it was, I guess I'm not being very nice right now.'

"Listen, Martha," he started. "In all seriousness, everybody starts small. Teams don't become famous overnight. I'm sure that, someday, you'll be searching for treasure in hidden ruins just like you dreamed you would. But right now we should focus on today's mission. We're here."

"Huh?" Martha looked around and they were in a rocky terrain with moss-colored grass around a path leading forward.

Recalling the letter, Martha said, "Spoink's mission description said the pearl is deep down on the seventh sublevel. It's supposedly very dangerous. Let's be really careful." Feeling more determined, Martha said, "Let's do our best, Ian!"

Ian nodded, and the two of them went forward along the path. While getting focused on the mission, Martha had overlooked that Ian had said "you", and not "we." One way or another, it was going to be her alone in the end.

As they walked forward on the path, the scenery suddenly changed and the entrance vanished behind them. Now they were in a room that was enclosed by rocky walls all around with hallways and passageways of water leading out. There was no ceiling, but Martha knew that trying to climb over the walls would be useless because of the nature of a mystery dungeon. They simply didn't allow such a thing without the right items. Although, she had heard of some legendary explorers that could walk over water, magma, chasms, and even through walls, all without any items. **(AN: IQ Skill, All-Terrain Hiker: self explanatory and obtained waaaaaaaay late in the IQ Skill line.)**

Ian's cheeks sparked, 'I'll have to watch for any Water-types trying to ambush us from the water…'

Martha looked around, "A mystery dungeon always keeps you guessing. Can never tell how the land will change or what paths will be available… Guess we should just try looking around?"

Ian pulled out the Wonder Map, "Luckily, we won't have to stumble around blindly. This map will keep track of where we've been." Already, the blank piece of parchment had drawn an outline of the room they were standing in with a white dot for Ian and a yellow dot for Martha. At the corner of the map, it said B1F. But as he was looking, he noticed a red dot approaching from his right, seemingly out of one of the walls.

He immediately turned and saw a Shellos coming from one of the water passages. He shot a Thunder Shock at it, but the Shellos shot a blob of mud into the air, and covered itself with Mud Sport. It cringed from the shock, but was still standing. The Shellos shook off the fatigue, but shot a Mud-Slap. Ian dodged to the side, and got ready to shoot another Thunder Shock, but Martha hit the Shellos over the head, knocking it out.

She turned to Ian, "You shouldn't waste moves on a weakened Pokémon; a simple regular attack will finish them off. Every Pokémon knows that."

'Well, until yesterday, I wasn't a Pokémon,' Ian thought, but he said, "Thank you for the advice. But I can't help but feel that that was a jibe for my 'common sense' remark earlier. As an explorer, shouldn't you be above petty teasing?"

Martha smiled and the two of them started moving down the hall, "I'm not stupid enough to battle an opponent without a plan; even if it's a battle of words. If that's how you're going to play on this team, I'm not going to just sit back and take your teasing; I'm going to fight back."

Ian smiled as he kept watch for approaching enemies on the map as it drew the hall they were walking down. This was starting to be fun. It appears Martha isn't as weak-kneed with Pokémon she's grown familiar with; she _did_ have the gall to argue with Chatot over their assignment, even if it wasn't the smartest of moves. And that was just one day after meeting the guy. Now, after one round of teasing, she's returning fire.

'Perhaps… Martha's stronger than even _she's _aware of. Maybe, if I tease her every now and again, I can help her gain enough confidence to stand on her own once I'm gone. Besides, banter is much more fun with an opponent.'

From then on, the rest of the mission passed without much incident. Martha even learned Sand Attack from battling the Pokémon that fought against them. Ian and Martha had trouble with the Lileep due to type problems, but the items that they found in the dungeon certainly helped. Turns out that Ian's claim about Martha being informed about exploring was entirely true. She knew everything about just about any item that they picked up, even knowing the different seeds and orbs after just one glance at them. She even knew the subtle difference between an Oran Berry and an Oren Berry.

The two of them were even able to find a little money in the dungeon, which got sucked into a seemingly bottomless pocket on the Treasure Bag with a gold-colored P stitched on it. Martha explained how the pocket worked and that Duskull, the town's banker, added those onto Treasure Bags when he first came around so that exploration teams can carry any and all money they find in a dungeon, that way they could deposit it in his bank.

"He's a little… odd, but his Poké Pocket was a great contribution to explorers everywhere!" Martha said as they walked down another set of stairs.

After they came to a chamber that looked naturally formed instead of like a dungeon room, Martha looked around and said, "Oh! Over there!" They moved forward to a round, pink gem that sparkled on the ground, "This has to be Spoink's pearl! Quick! Let's take it back!"

Ian picked up the pearl and put it in the Treasure Bag, "Our first mission is complete."

Both of their badges glowed, and Martha said, "Then we just have to press on our badges, and we'll be warped back to the guild."

They did so, and once they arrived back at the guild, Chatot contacted Spoink. Within a matter of moments, Spoink bounced down the ladder and took his pearl back, placing it on his head. He looked a little worse for wear, having some bruises on his body.

"Th-thank you! That pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there! So I was just boinging and springing everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps. But thanks you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks!"

He handed over a small bag with a Protein, a Calcium and an Iron. Then he handed a larger bag with a gold P stitched on it, containing 2,000 Poké.

Martha spoke in wonder, "Oh, wow! 2,000 Poké?! We can have all this money?"

Spoink waved his hand, "Of course! Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value! Farewell!" Spoink bounced up the steps of the ladder, leaving the guild.

Martha turned to Ian, "We're rich, Ian! All of a sudden, we're rich!"

Chatot nodded, "Well done, team!" He walked up to Ian, "Now hand that money over, if you please!"

"Excuse me?!" Martha said incredulously.

Ian handed over the bag of money and looked at Martha with a look that clearly said "Calm down."

Martha didn't look happy about it, but she kept quiet as Chatot explained while rifling through the bag of money, "Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see. And your team's share comes out to… this much!"

As he handed back a handful of Poké coins in his wing, Martha couldn't keep quiet, "Huh?! We keep only 200 Poké? That's not fair!"

Chatot didn't seem fazed by her outburst. Evidently he'd heard it before. "Well that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it!"

As Martha hmphed, Ian had put their portion of the money in the Poké Pocket and was looking through the items that they had been given. He wasn't all that concerned about the small share they got. If a large portion of their funds would be from finding Poké in the dungeons, then so be it. They got to keep the items, and that was something. In a way, since items could be used to aid in future explorations, to him the items were the more valuable of the two kinds of rewards.

Since they were done for the day, Ian and Martha spent the rest of the day hanging around the guild. Ian spoke with Loudred and asked if he could take over waking up Martha, since he was an early riser anyway. Loudred had no problem with it. It made his job easier with one less room to wake up.

After dinner, everybody turned in for the night. As Ian and Martha got ready for bed, Martha struck up a conversation, "Say, Ian… Today was pretty hectic today with everything we went through, wasn't it? But I'm glad our first job turned out so well."

Ian spoke back, "I thought you were upset about our assignment."

"Well, after you offered a new perspective, I saw it as the first step. And I'm glad we were able to take it." Then Martha huffed, "I _was_ really mad about how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money… That's just the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it. But what made me really happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink!"

Martha yawned and settled into her bed, "I'm getting sleepy. I'm going to sleep. Let's try our best again tomorrow. Sleep tight, Ian…"

After waiting an hour again, Ian stood up and set out to check the guild for any discreet ways out. He remembered that he'd have to be careful when on the floor with the Mission Boards. Chatot slept on the top of the ladder and he was as light a sleeper as Ian himself was.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and make good New Year's Resolutions (and keep them)!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Visions of the Past's Future!

Chapter 4: Visions of the Past's Future!

Ian woke up with the rising sun and stretched a bit before padding over to Martha's bed. As Ian tried shaking Martha awake, he thought back to last night. He had searched the other rooms, besides the other residential quarters, and found no way out anywhere. Would he simply have to cut and run at some point while in the field in order to get to Grovyle once Ian located him? That idea didn't exactly sit well with him.

He returned his attention to Martha as he continued shaking her harder, 'I'll do what I have to do, regardless of how it will drag my fake name through the mud. It won't matter, anyway, because – okay, seriously, just _how_ heavy a sleeper is Martha?'

Martha was still soundly asleep, only curling up tighter when Ian tried to shake her awake. Ian's frustration was mounting by the second. At this rate, they were going to be late anyway. He stopped shaking Martha, and she turned away from him, still asleep.

Ian crossed his arms and briefly considered going to get Loudred. But he decided against it, since he had promised Loudred that he'd wake Martha up from now on, and taking it back wouldn't be proper. Thinking for a bit, a mischievous smile broke out on Ian's face, and with his arms still crossed, he moved his tail around to his side, charging a bit of electricity in it.

'All right, Martha, let's see you sleep through this.' Moving the tail toward the center of Martha's back, Ian said, "Clear!" and he zapped Martha with a mild shock by touching his tail to the spot he had it near.

"Gak!" Martha spasmed and rolled off of her bed from the shock. Her fur, particularly on the cream-colored fur around her neck, was frizzy and sticking out everywhere. She shook her head and got up; taking a look at herself, she started trying to shake her fur back down with little success.

"Good, you're awake," Ian said nonchalantly. "We have to get to the morning address."

As Ian got the Treasure Bag, Martha said, "Did you just-?!"

"I _tried_ waking you up more gently," Ian said as he fixed the bag over his shoulder, "It didn't work. If you sleep through the gentle wake-up, you get shock therapy. Remember it. Now, come on, if we dawdle any longer, we'll be late."

The two of them walked down the hall and arrived in time for the morning address.

"AND… THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

"Okay, Pokémon! Time to get to work!"

"Hooray!"

After a short while, Chatot acknowledged that Ian and Martha were still standing around, unsure what to do. "Oh, you two! Still milling about, it seems… Well, come with me."

He led the two of them up to the first sublevel, but unlike last time, they turned left from the staircase and walked up to a board across the room from the Job Bulletin Board.

Martha took note of this, "Oh? Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side…"

"Correct!" Chatot said, "Today, we'll have you do a job listed on this side."

Martha tilted her head, curious, "How is this different from the board on the other side?"

Chatot turned to the board, "Take a closer look."

Ian and Martha stepped closer, Ian understood what the board was the instant that he saw the pictures. As Martha spoke, he felt sorry for what she was about to be asked to do.

"Oh! Look at this Ian! There are posters up here that show a variety of Pokémon! Wow, they all look sort of cool! Are they famous explorers?" Martha wondered. She looked at Chatot, "Who are these Pokémon, Chatot?"

Still looking at the board, Chatot said seriously, "The Pokémon posted here… are outlaws. They're all shady characters. And they're wanted for committing crimes."

Martha stepped back nervously, "Wait, you mean these are criminals?"

Chatot nodded, "Correct. So there are bounties on their heads. In other words, there is a cash reward if you capture one." He sighed and shook his head, "There are so many aggressive Pokémon around these days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem."

"And we're supposed to catch these outlaws?" Martha asked incredulously. "No way! That's not possible!"

Chatot laughed, "Hee-heeee! Just joking!"

'Chatot has a weird definition of a joke…' Ian thought. Unaware, Chatot waved his wing as he continued, "The bad Pokémon out there come in all shades of badness. Some of those Pokémon are completely wicked, through and through… But there are also bad Pokémon who are merely petty thieves. So you've got evil to naughty… and everything in between! So I'm sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a superbad Pokémon. Hee-heeee! So look over these posters, then pick a Pokémon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice!"

As Ian silently fumed over the disguised jibe at their strength – they were new, sure, but they weren't weak! – Martha hesitated, "Um… You say some are weak… They're still bad Pokémon, aren't they? I'm scared of dangerous Pokémon…"

"It's all a part of your training," Chatot replied. "You'll work through it, I'm sure! But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent… So, I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities." He turned towards the ladders and called, "Hey! Bidoof! Bidoof?!"

There was a "Yup yup!" from the lower level as a Bidoof climbed up, and plodded up to Chatot.

Breathing heavily, he said, "You called?"

Chatot nodded, "Ah, Bidoof, these are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town."

Bidoof nodded, "Yes sirree! By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup!"

Chatot turned back to Ian and Martha, "This is Bidoof. He's one of your fellow apprentices. I want you to pay attention to what Bidoof has to say and follow his orders. Off you go!"

After Chatot left, Bidoof sniffled and said, "Aw, shucks. I'm overjoyed!"

Martha tilted her head, "Why's that?"

Bidoof said, "I'm glad to have members junior to me! I'm almost overcome right now… I might just blubber with happiness! Before you all signed on, I was the most recent rookie…" He sniffled again, and then pulled himself together, "Well, I'd best show you around. Come with me, please."

Ian and Martha followed Bidoof to the second sublevel, and he said, "First things first!" He pointed to the curious shaped booth that Ian had seen at night a few times. In the light of day, it was revealed to represent the Pokémon, Croagunk.

"Here, we have Croagunk… But to tell the truth, I don't have any idea what that Pokémon's up to… He always seems to be fiddling around with that big cauldron back there. It's all a mystery to me! Yup yup!" He pointed past Croagunk's booth and to the hallway across from their right, "Over this way's the mess hall." He pointed to the hall towards the left, "And if you all look that way, you'll find the crew rooms." Turning towards the door that Chatot was standing in front of, he said, "And this here leads to the Guildmaster's Chamber."

Bidoof turned back to Ian and Martha, "Next, I'll guide you both around places outside the guild."

Taking both ladders up and walking out of the exit to outside, Bidoof led the two of them down the cliff's stairs to the crossroads. As they reached the intersection, he turned to a well with a wooden awning shading it, "I hear you can make a record of your adventure at that Watering Hole." After making that note, Bidoof led them to the right, taking them to Treasure Town.

Even though most would consider Treasure Town to be a small community, it was staggering to Ian. He kept his face composed, but inside he was marveling at so many friendly Pokémon in one place. 'So many friendly faces… If one looked at this, you wouldn't be able to tell right away that the world was headed for disaster. And with bad Pokémon rising in number, perhaps such a gathering of friendly Pokémon could lead to opportunistic criminals taking advantage of their trusting nature. It can't be helped, though. All of these Pokémon look like they've never known a moment of true peril in their entire lives. How could they know whether someone was really "good" or just wearing a mask?'

Ian's musing was cut short as the three of them arrived in the center of the four booths surrounding the T-shaped intersection of the town. Bidoof said, "This is the main square for the local Pokémon… It's called Treasure Town."

Martha chimed in, "Oh, Ian, I can tell you about Treasure Town."

Ian followed where Martha was looking, first towards a black and grey building shaped like a Duskull, as she spoke, "That over there is Duskull Bank. I told you about him, remember? We can save our money there." She turned to a tent representing the Pokémon, Electivire, "And that over there is the Electivire Link Shop. That's where you can do things like link moves together, but… It looks as if Electivire isn't around today."

Martha pointed with her paw down further along the path, "Waaaaaay over there, further down the path, is Kecleon Market, where you can buy and sell items. And, next to that, is Kangaskhan Storage. Items stored there will never be lost. You remember Chatot's warning? If you have precious items that you can't afford to lose, store them here before you go on an adventure." She turned back to Ian, "And those are the basic places that exploration teams visit."

Bidoof nodded, "You sure know a lot, yes sirree! And that's good to know! All right, then. Come find me when you're all ready to go. I'll give you a helping hand with selecting the right outlaw for you."

Martha bowed her head in thanks and smiled, "Thank you. How nice of you, Bidoof!"

Bidoof looked away, "G-golly, you're embarrassing me! Aw, shucks… I'll be waiting at the guild's upper underground floor for you." Bidoof nodded and made his way back to the guild.

Martha turned to Ian and said, "Okay, let's go. I'd like to see what kinds of items are available! Let's go to Kecleon Market! Before we head back, a visit to Kecleon Market is a must!"

Ian nodded, and said as he pointed down the path branching off the main one, "All right, but what about those two buildings over there? You never talked about them."

Martha turned to look where he was pointing and saw the small building shaped like a Chansey, and the large stone structure with a pair of large bones along the roof flanking a massive skull decorated with a wreath of feathers.

Martha's smile fell a bit as she regarded the pink building, "Oh, that's the Chansey Day Care. Sometimes, exploration teams can get Pokémon Eggs as rewards for doing missions, and Chansey looks after them until the Pokémon hatches. To be honest, I never paid attention to it, because the thought of an egg being given as payment never really sat well with me."

Ian nodded, he could understand that. He didn't really like the idea either. Martha continued as she looked to the stone structure, "I've never been to that other place, but I've heard that Pokémon used to train there before it collapsed. It's closed down now, but there's a notice there that seems very enthusiastic about its reconstruction."

"Pardon?" Ian said. "The _note_ is enthusiastic?"

Martha motioned for him to follow as she walked down the path, "Here, you'll need to see it to understand."

The two of them walked to the doorway of the building, beneath the skull, and there was a rope blocking entrance with a message carved in a wooden plank fastened to the rope.

_"__Marowak Dojo has collapsed. But it will rise from the rubble again! Yes! The Dojo will be resurrected to its former glory!_

_"__-Marowak Dojo's Sensei-"_

Ian nodded. It was a very enthusiastic message. "Well, I'm interested, and if we're supposed to get stronger for exploring, maybe we should visit this place when it's open again."

Martha shrugged, "Maybe; now, come on! Let's get to the market already!"

On the way there, Ian looked around, seeing the various Pokémon milling about Treasure Town. He said, "Say, why don't you take the Treasure Bag and go ahead to the market without me? I'd like to talk with some of the Pokémon around here."

Martha turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "Shouldn't we stay together? Why do you want to?"

'I want to see if I can ferret out any rumors about the state of the world, how far the process has gone. Or better yet, a rumor about a wayward Grovyle traveling from place to place.' is what he was thinking, but Ian smiled and said, "We're just starting out, and I can see other Pokémon from the guild, along with some other groups that have Explorer Badges. I want to see if I can get any tips on taking down our first outlaw, or if there are any useful pieces of information about exploring in general. And with the two of us splitting up to cover both of these tasks, we'll be done that much faster!"

Martha smiled and nodded, "That's smart of you, Ian! All of these other Pokémon probably have experience, and it would be great if we could get some advice." Ian nodded back and handed the Treasure Bag, smiling and waving as Martha walked on ahead.

Ian spent the next ten or so minutes talking with everyone around the town square. Unfortunately, most of his conversations were hopelessly devoid of any useful information. He did get one or two tips that he'd be able to share with Martha, but nothing for himself. He decided to make his way to Kecleon Market, but he saw another pair of Pokémon, a Shuppet and a Murkrow.

He walked up to them, idly noting that Martha was standing at the counter of the green Kecleon running the market, trying to decide what to buy, and the Shuppet regarded him coolly, "Is there something you need? We're Team Ebony. We've traveled and explored all over."

'I guess first I should at least try getting some results for Martha.' "My partner and I are new apprentices training at the guild. We're going after our first outlaw today, and I'd appreciate any and all wisdom from an experienced exploration team like you." Ian knew that a little flattery could go a long way. Some Pokémon just liked being told how great they were.

It had the desired effect, and Murkrow said, "Well, if you insist, there is one thing that we can tell you. Whom you fight is not everything. It is important, having to do with type advantages, yes. But what oftentimes matters most is location."

Shuppet said, "Outlaws instinctively hide out where they are only a little stronger than the native Pokémon, barring a few exceptions. The reason for this is that if the outlaw is weaker than the native Pokémon, he will be defeated and expelled from the dungeon before he can make his hideout. But if the outlaw is too strong, then exploration teams like you and me catch wind of an abnormally strong Pokémon in the area."

"All in all, if it's your first outlaw, you might want to pick a place that's familiar to you, where you're stronger than the native Pokémon, but also strong enough to deal with a marginally stronger Pokémon than the natives," Murkrow finished.

"However," Shuppet added, "I like you, so I'll give you a little extra warning. If you're lacking confidence, and you want a little insurance, you can get a Reviver Seed. Just make sure you have somebody to defend you. It heals you faster if you lie still, but you'll be quite vulnerable."

Ian nodded, and said, "One more thing, I've heard about time getting out of hand. Any idea how far the paralysis has reached?"

Shuppet's eyes widened, "Paralysis? What do you mean? Are you talking about that rumor that time stops in an area if the Time Gear is removed?"

The problem ran much deeper than that, but Ian merely nodded in response, and Murkrow said, "Well, all the Time Gears are still where they belong, presumably, since there hasn't been news of time stopping in large areas. So, the world is still as fine as it can be right now."

'Good. So it's still in the early stages. Temporal Tower must only have suffered minimal collapse so far… But that also means that Grovyle hasn't started yet. Is he all right? Or perhaps he's looking for me? Darn! We can't afford to waste any time! Things might be all right now, but soon the collapse will start to accelerate. If we're too slow, it might be too late!'

Something bumped Ian's side, and he turned to find Martha with a helpless look on her face. "Ian, please tell me that you got some good advice! There were so many good items available that I couldn't decide which ones to buy! We only have a little over 800 Poké, so we need to pick carefully!"

Ian nodded, "Yeah, I got some information." As they walked back to the market, Ian said, "First, did you store the extra items we had in Kangaskhan Storage?"

Martha nodded, "Yup! The bag was full anyway, so I dropped off some extra items that weren't needed there. I also put the Zinc Band in."

"Good. Sunflora, a fellow apprentice, said that we should keep a well-stocked supply of items to aid future explorations. Now let's see what Kecleon Market has." The two of them walked up to the counter where the green and purple Kecleon brothers greeted them.

Ian looked through the items that they had available on the shelf today. A glowing seed immediately caught his eye. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at it.

The younger, green Kecleon glanced at it and said, "Ah, you have a good eye, sir! That is a Reviver Seed! Excellent to have for an exploration! Usually our stock of them is swept clean right away, so you're lucky to find one today! If it pleases you, it only costs 800 Poké."

Martha seemed unsure, "I don't know, Ian… That's pretty much everything we have…"

Ian turned to her, "Murkrow and Shuppet of Team Ebony, an experienced exploration team, said that a Reviver Seed is good to have as insurance if you're tackling a foe that you might lose to. I know that Bidoof is going to help us pick out a weaker one, but you can never be too careful. Besides, even if we wind up not needing it, we'll have it for any time that we do, and we can always find more money during our explorations."

Martha seemed to think about it for a while, and then nodded, "All right. I guess I'm all for safety measures."

Ian turned back to the younger brother, "We'll take the Reviver Seed." Martha reached into the Poké Pocket and said, "800 Poké." A smallish bag with a golden P was resting on her paw as she pulled it out. Martha set it on the counter and the older, purple Kecleon brother took it while the younger brother handed Ian the item.

Both of them said, "Thanks! Please come again!"

Placing the item in the Treasure Bag, Ian was about to offer to take the bag back when a voice called, "Misters Kecleon!" A Marill and Azurill ran up and stopped at the counter where the older Kecleon was. The Marill had a small cloth bag.

The younger Kecleon said, "Ah! Little Marill and Azurill! Welcome, my young friends!"

Azurill bowed and said, "Hello. May I buy an Apple?"

"Oh, most certainly." Marill handed the bag and the brothers counted out the proper 25 Poké and put the fruit in the bag. After handing the bag back to Marill, he smiled said, "Thank you, Misters Kecleon!"

Both Kecleon brothers bowed and the older said, "No, thank you, my young friends! You are to be admired!"

Marill and Azurill left, and the two brothers noticed Martha's curious look. The younger Kecleon explained, "You see, those delightful children are brothers."

"Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick," the other continued, "So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her."

The younger finished, "It's quite remarkable. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge."

Marill and Azurill came back and Marill called, "Misters Kecleon!"

The younger Kecleon tilted his head, "Oh? What's the hurry? What makes you return in such a rush?"

Azurill had an Apple balanced on his head, "There was an extra Apple!"

"We didn't pay for this many," Marill added.

"Oh, yes," the older Kecleon said, "That, young friends is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy."

"Really?!" Marill asked. Azurill cheered, "Yay! Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"

The younger Kecleon nodded, "Oh, not to worry, my friends. Do take care on your way home."

Marill and Azurill started to leave, but Azurill tripped as Marill walked on. He dropped the Apple he had and it rolled back a ways towards Ian.

Ian picked up the Apple and offered it back after Azurill came back. Azurill bowed and said, "W-we're sorry to bother you. Thank you so much."

As Ian handed the Apple back to Azurill. He was struck by a wave of dizziness. At first he dismissed it, but when it struck again, he recognized the pre-symptoms of his special ability.

'Wh-what?! Here…?! How-?!'

Out of his control, now that it had started, a streak of light raced across his vision, and in a flash of light, he heard a voice.

_'"__H-h-h… HELP!"'_

The light receded, and he was looking at Azurill again.

Ian was rooted to the spot as he wondered just what had happened. 'A Dimensional Scream?! But… that's not possible! Why would it…?!'

Azurill tilted his head, "Is something the matter?"

Marill came back and called for Azurill, "Hey, Azurill! What's going on? Let's hurry home!"

Azurill turned towards his brother and said, "Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!"

As the two brothers regrouped and left, Ian was doing some deep pondering of why his ability activated.

'All right, don't just freak out about it; try to figure out why. First condition: a trusted Pokémon partner.' He glanced at Martha as she said, "Ha! Those little guys sure are cute!" 'Well… She's a Pokémon, and I guess I trust her, to an extent. She's extremely kind and trusting, and I'd bet that she doesn't have a single malicious bone in her body. All right, second condition: the trigger object must have some relation to a Time Gear… That's the confusing thing about it… I doubt that these children would have _anything_ to do with a Time Gear. If that's the case, then why did it trigger…?'

Martha said something, and Ian said, "Sorry, what?"

"I said 'What's the matter?'" Martha repeated. "You spaced out for a few seconds. Are you daydreaming?"

Ian shook his head, and Martha said, "Well then, let's hustle, Ian! If we're done shopping, then we should get back to Bidoof."

Ian thought hard as he stared at the back of Martha's head as they walked. Perhaps, if he trusts her enough to activate the Dimensional Scream, he can trust her enough to tell her about it. If push comes to shove, he might have to.

'That shout… That was Azurill's scream!'

Once they got back to the part of town where Duskull's bank was, they saw Marill and Azurill talking with a Drowzee.

Once Martha noticed, and recognized Marill and Azurill, she said, "Say! What are they up to?"

Azurill was cheering and Marill said, "Thank you!"

Drowzee waved his hand and said, "Please! It's nothing."

Ian and Martha walked up to the group and Martha asked what was going on. After Azurill greeted us, Marill explained, "Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us… We've been looking all over… But we haven't found it yet!" He turned to look at Drowzee, "Then Mr. Drowzee came along… And he says that he may have seen our lost item somewhere!" Turning back to Ian and Martha, he added, "He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this!"

Martha said, "Is that right? How nice for you!"

Ian, however remained silent and stared at Drowzee. The yellow and brown Pokémon had an amiable expression on his face. But, to Ian, this situation was highly suspect. Where he came from, Pokémon didn't just conveniently know something you needed and offer it for nothing. Also, there were many red flags to Ian. First, Drowzee had said "may" have seen their item. That's no guarantee that he did; he could easily be lying.

As Azurill thanked Drowzee, he said, "Oh, please… I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search!"

Second, if he was really just trying to help, he could've just as easily told them the location and they could ask an exploration team for help. But, by going with them, he's the only one that knows where they're going, and he's going to be alone with them.

Both of the brothers agreed, and the three of them moved to leave, but Drowzee accidentally bumped into Ian.

"Whoops! Excuse me."

As Drowzee left after the two children, Ian felt another wave of dizziness coming on. 'Again?'

Martha said, "That Drowzee sure is nice. You've got to admire that! With more and more bad Pokémon around… it's hard to do good deeds."

Ian was too occupied by the effects of his ability. 'Then this is no coincidence… I can really use the Dimensional Scream in this time, somewhat more freely than in the past…'

As there was the flash of light, a scene was displayed before him.

_'__In a mountainous region, Drowzee and Azurill were standing alone in a wide area._

_'"__If you keep being difficult," Drowzee threatened, "it will mean big trouble for you!"_

_'"__H-h-h… HELP!"'_

The light vanished, along with any hesitance on Ian's part. He had to tell her about his ability, otherwise, she'd never believe him about his vision. But he had to do it in a way that didn't blow his cover.

Martha continued, unaware of Ian's vision, and of his decision, "It would be nice if those cute little guys found their item soon."

Ian turned around to face Martha, and she raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Is anything the matter, Ian? Why are you looking so grim?"

Keeping his voice steady, Ian asked, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Martha looked confused, but suggested Sharpedo Bluff. After they arrived at the bluff shaped as its namesake, a Sharpedo, Ian looked around to make sure that no one was around.

"Ian, you're making me nervous," Martha said. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

After double-checking, Ian said, "I had a vision. One of my memories came back. I have a secret ability, known as the Dimensional Scream. I don't remember what I used it for, but sometimes, when I touch an object or person, I get a vision of its past or future. When I bumped into Drowzee, I saw a vision of the future. Drowzee and Azurill were alone in a mountainous region and Drowzee was threatening Azurill! We need to go rescue him right away! But listen! This ability that I have, it's a secret to everyone! I met you when I first arrived, and you've been nothing but kind to me, so I'm putting a _lot_ of trust in you by telling you this. _Please_ keep it a secret! But, right now, this is an emergency! We _need _to go now!"

Ian poured as much as he could into convincing Martha of his sincerity, but his heart fell as he saw the confused, but disbelieving look on her face. "Well… what you describe does _sound_ like an emergency, but… Well, it's not like I don't trust you, Ian, but… I just can't believe it! After all, Drowzee seemed to be a sincerely nice Pokémon, didn't he? I saw the three of them go off together earlier… They looked like they were having a good time, didn't they?" She smiled, and said as if – at least that's how it felt to Ian – addressing a child, "You're probably just tired, Ian. Maybe that's why you just had that bad daydream."

Ian's thoughts were of the exact opposite kind. 'I know what I saw! It wasn't a bad daydream; it _will_ happen if we don't stop it. No, if _I_ don't stop it. I'm sorry to do this, Martha, but if you're too naïve to see the truth, then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands!'

Martha continued, unaware of Ian's plan forming in his mind, "Anyway, we're only apprentices. We can't just go off on our own. Sure, it's a little odd, but… We have to focus on our guild work for now. We're all packed, let's go meet up with Bidoof. He should be waiting for us on the guild's upper underground floor."

Ian smiled, if Drowzee could fool her, he should have no problem. "Of course, Martha, we _are _just apprentices after all," Ian said, carefully keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. His goal wasn't to be teasing, but to sound sincere. He briefly appreciated the irony of having to fake sincerity after his partner didn't believe his real sincerity.

"But first," Ian added, "I need to stop by Kangaskhan Storage to pick something up. I noticed that you left a very important item behind. One that'll probably be needed to catch the outlaw. You go on ahead, I'll catch up. You know how fast a runner I am; I won't be long."

Martha smiled, "That's the spirit! You go do that, and we'll meet back up at Wigglytuff's Guild! See you later!"

Ian intentionally let her leave with the Treasure Bag. If he had asked for it, even Martha might have gotten suspicious. Ian waited a few moments, and then he left the bluff, following the path back to Treasure Town. He stopped at Kangaskhan Storage and took out the Zinc Band. He wasn't lying when he said that it would probably be needed to catch their first outlaw. After he tightened it around his arm, he took off running out of town after he was out of sight of the citizens at the crossroads. Sniffing with his new Pokémon nose, he detected the fresh scent trail of the three Pokémon that had left.

As Ian ran after them to catch up, he had to be completely honest with himself. He was doing this to rescue Azurill, yes, and it would get today's assignment done to catch the outlaw, sure, but Ian had an ulterior motive.

'This vision… I'm confident that I didn't have it for no reason at all… If this mission is somehow, albeit very, very loosely, tied to a Time Gear, then I have to follow this path!' He continued following the trail and saw Mt. Bristle in the distance. 'If I can find a Time Gear, then I might be able to find Grovyle!'

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, I was trying to express more in the chapters this time around, and this chapter wound up being, like, twice as long as its ANL counterpart! Please review to let me know how I did with expressing more in my writing!<strong>

**-AJ203**


	5. Chapter 5: Black, White & Shades of Gray

**This chapter got done a lot sooner, since the story part of the game was very close. So I figured why the heck not, and I decided to post it today.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: Black, White, and Shades of Gray<span>

When Ian arrived at the foot of Mt. Bristle, he knew that his vision was already coming to pass. He found the entrance and saw Marill calling out, "Azurill! Mr. Drowzee! Azurill!"

Ian ran up beside Marill and startled him with his approach, but he said, "No time to explain why I'm here; I just am." He held up his badge, "I'm Ian of Team Rapid; what's the situation?"

Marill stuttered, "A-an exploration team? Wait, you were at the-"

"What's the situation?" Ian repeated. He knew enough about exploration team protocol to know that he needed to receive an assignment from a client (whether a citizen or a superior) in order to act in representation of his team.

Marill sniffled and said, "My brother and Mr. Drowzee; they went in there. I thought that they'd be right back, but they haven't come back for a long time! I've been calling for them, but they're not coming back!"

Ian nodded, "Do you want me to go in and bring back your brother?"

Marill nodded, "Yes! Please, I'm so worried!"

Ian fixed his badge to his Zinc Band, "Then I've got a mission. You go back to get help. I'll go on ahead." Marill nodded and ran off. Ian dropped to all fours and ran through the entrance. As usual, the mystery dungeon reformed itself into rooms and corridors. The sky was still visible, since it was a mountain.

Ian looked around for a way to go. 'No Wonder Map… I'll just have to make a map in my head!' Ian darted off down a hallway to his right. As he ran down the hall, he got a good look at the terrain of the mountain from the corridor walls and the floor that he was running along.

'Barren, potentially deadly, and so much gray,' Ian thought to himself dryly. 'Suddenly, I feel right at home…'

* * *

><p>Martha was shifting nervously from paw to paw. What was taking Ian so long? Wasn't he just going to get something from storage for the exploration?<p>

'He can't have gotten lost; Treasure Town isn't that big. Could he have…? Nah, that can't be. He may have been suspicious of Drowzee, but he wouldn't go after him on just a hunch. Besides, all of our items are right here. Ian knows better than to go on a mission without a map, items and backup.'

As Martha told herself this, her thoughts returned to the day that they first met. 'Then again… Ian _can _get a bit carried away when others are threatened by bad guys… I mean, he was ready to take on two opponents by himself for someone he just met… If he was telling the truth about his ability to see the future… and if he saw Azurill being threatened… No, no, no! I'm being ridiculous! If _that _were true, then that would mean Azurill _and_ Ian are in danger. So that just _can't_ be!'

"I'm sure he'll come down that ladder any second now!" Martha said cheerfully to no one in particular.

"Golly, I hope so," Bidoof added. "Would you mind if I picked your outlaw for you, and then you wait for Ian? I have my own work to do today, and Chatot won't be happy if I'm late…"

Martha was about to answer when a siren blared through the entire first sublevel of the guild. Three uniform voices called out from seemingly nowhere, "Stand clear! Updating listings! Stand clear! Updating listings!"

Martha jumped back as she yelped, "Wah! Wh-what's going on?!"

"Oh, the data's getting updated," Bidoof calmly replied.

"It's being… updated?" Martha quizzically asked.

Quick as a thought, the Outlaw Notice Board flipped over, showing the blank other side. Martha looked at the blank side, "Wha…? How did…?"

Bidoof turned to her and explained, "The Outlaw Notice Board and Job Bulletin Board are set up on revolving panels. While the panel is flipped over, a Pokémon named Dugtrio swaps out the old jobs with the new ones. Updating data is Dugtrio's duty. He tunnels his way to our guild… Then he flips the panel and updates the data. This duty doesn't get noticed much, but it's very important. Yup yup! That's why Dugtrio take such great pride in the duty he does!"

Martha raised an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so?"

The siren rang again, "Update completed! Stand clear! Update completed! Stand clear!"

Martha and Bidoof turned back to the board, and Martha said, "Oh, looks like he's done."

The panel flipped after a slight tremor, and Bidoof said, "Yes sirree! The data is updated! The list of outlaws has been refreshed, so let's pick one."

Suddenly, Martha started trembling. She was staring at one of the posters, a look that seemed to be a cross between anger and fear on her face. Bidoof turned to her, "Huh? What's ailing you? Why are you shivering all of a sudden? It's not cold here, after all."

Martha couldn't even hear him speak. Her eyes were glued to the poster on the top left, and her mind raced. The poster had a familiar face on it. It was a wanted poster for a Pokémon she had seen not even twenty minutes ago. Drowzee, bounty of 3,000 Poké. Martha felt angry, but she couldn't tell whether she was angry at Drowzee for tricking her or herself for not believing Ian.

'Ian _was_ telling the truth! I need to find him! _Now!_ He needs back up!' Without any explanation to Bidoof, Martha jumped up and took down the poster with her teeth and stuffed it into the Treasure Bag, accepting the mission, and ran off up the ladder.

As Martha ran out of the guild and down the steps, she was mentally yelling at herself. 'How could I have let Ian out of my sight?! Why did I just believe that he'd let the matter drop? At least Azurill will be protected by him. But if anything happens to Ian or Azurill, it'll be my fault!'

Martha reached the bottom of the stairs and ran into Marill. She ran up to him and said, "Marill! What happened?! Where are Azurill and Drowzee? Did you see my partner?"

Marill nodded, "Ian sent me back here to get help, but he went after my brother and Mr. Drowzee already. Did he send me here to get you?"

Seeing the opportunity, Martha nodded quickly, "Yes! I was off to go help him just now, as a matter of fact. Please, lead me to where he went!"

* * *

><p>Ian was panting in a corridor, having finally managed to lose the opponent that had been tailing him. 'Damn Geodudes.'<p>

So far, Ian had made it up seven floors of Mt. Bristle. He had the advantage that it would take Drowzee time as well to lead Azurill to the end of the dungeon, but it was harder than he thought it would be.

Ian had managed to take down the Doduo and Starly, but everything else proved problematic. The Spinarak, Nidorina and Nidorino all had dangerous poison. If one of those attacks or barbs poisoned Ian, it would be all over for him. The Machop weren't as big a problem, but they were tough enough to take his electric shocks, and their counterattacks were fierce. And of course, there just _had_ to be Geodudes. Ground-types. Immune to his electricity at his current level of power. And with their rock bodies, there was virtually no choice except to flee.

On top of all of that, Ian's mental mapping of the dungeon floors wasn't perfect. Occaisonally, he would run into a dead end. If he hadn't spent years learning to make a map in his head, he would've been even worse off and probably wouldn't have made it past the first floor. Grovyle and he didn't have the luxury of a Wonder Map when they were on the run from the Sableye.

By calling upon his experience, and lying low to let his new Pokémon healing factor restore his energy every once in a while, Ian had managed to take down enough enemies and gained enough experience to learn Thunder Wave. It had saved him a good number of times shortly after he learned it. When he was cornered just now, he managed to paralyze the Machop and Nidorino and outrun the Geodude.

Panting, Ian decided that he'd gotten enough rest and ran down the hall, trying to find a way to the stairs. After he found them, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards it, he saw that it was an orb. He wasn't totally ignorant of the items as he pretended to be. He had studied, after all, and Grovyle had used different orbs a fair few times to help them escape capture.

'Yes… This will be good for getting Azurill away from Drowzee before the battle.' He picked up the orb and headed up the stairs to the next floor.

* * *

><p>"This is where you last saw them?" Martha asked, looking at the imposing Mt. Bristle.<p>

Marill nodded, "Y-yes."

Martha was nervous, but she didn't want Marill to worry. So she smiled and said, "Don't worry! If Ian's on the case already, I'm sure your brother will be perfectly fine!"

Marill shakily nodded, and Martha started running forward, pulling the Wonder Map out of the Treasure Bag and holding it in her mouth as the landscape changed into a mystery dungeon and Marill disappeared from view along with the entrance.

'I just hope that Ian won't get himself killed to protect him.'

* * *

><p>Azurill walked forward with Drowzee, but they came up to a wall. The only thing that distinguished it from any other wall in the dungeon was a small hole at the level of the floor.<p>

"Uh-oh," Azurill said, "It's a dead end." Azurill turned around, "Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where the item is now?"

Drowzee shook his head, "Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."

"Huh?" Azurill started getting nervous, "My… big brother… My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon?"

Drowzee shook his head again, "Nope. Your big brother's not coming." He chuckled, "I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you."

Azurill stepped back, "Huh?!"

Waving his hand, Drowzee said, "But let's not dwell on that. There's a little favor I need to ask. See that hole behind you?" Azurill glanced at said hole in the wall behind him, and Drowzee continued, "Well… There's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole. And that's where you come in!"

Azurill looked back at Drowzee, his eyes wide with fear. Drowzee said, "Don't worry. Just do as I say. Do that, then I'll help you get back out of here."

Azurill started trembling, "B-but…"

Drowzee urged him along, "Go on, get going!" He stepped closer, "Go into that hole. And don't forget to bring back the treasure!"

Azurill started crying, and ran around Drowzee to try and get away, "I want my big brother!"

"H-hey! Stop that!" Drowzee ran after Azurill and was about to catch him, but a small yellow figure tackled him straight in the gut, knocking him off balance. Before Drowzee could recover, he heard, "Azurill! Wherever you wind up, stay low and stay hidden!"

Drowzee got his bearings back just in time to see Ian point a blue orb with a white wing on it at Azurill. A tiny ball of energy flew out in a straight path and touched Azurill. His body flashed white, and he was teleported away. **(AN: Warp Orb, warps a Pokémon target away; target range: line of sight.)**

"Wh-what?!" Drowzee shouted. What had just happened? How had his entire plan fallen apart so quickly? He looked at the Pikachu in front of him. It was his fault! Everything was going smoothly until he came along! Drowzee saw the Explorer Badge on his arm, and he took a step back, "An exploration team?! How did you find this place?!"

Ian glared at him and said, "I don't owe you any answers, you low-life! You're going to pay for your crimes!"

Drowzee panicked for a moment, but then he noticed some key advantages. First, for all of the Pikachu's declarations, it was one-on-one, so his odds of victory were fairly good. Second, the only item that he had was the orb that had now shattered after its use. There was a band, but it was probably just to hold his badge there.

Drowzee smirked, "Hm, well, you're a pretty sorry looking exploration team. Is your teammate invisible? And you must not be that smart if you came to catch an outlaw without any items. That's right, I have a bounty on my head. But can you do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice? This should be a laugh. Let's see if you can take me down. Show me what you've got."

Ian shot a Thunder Wave, but the instant that he started moving to fire it, Drowzee moved to dodge it, using his psychic ability, Forewarn. Drowzee used Confusion on Ian to counter, and Ian was lifted off the ground slightly and felt the psychic pressure. But it fizzled out, only causing minimal damage.

Ian used Thunder Shock on Drowzee while he was off guard. Smirking, he lifted his badge slightly, revealing the Z that the badge had been covering on his Zinc Band. He placed it back down, "Tsk tsk tsk, should've done your homework."

Ian pressed his advantage while Drowzee was still distracted and hit him with Thunder Wave. Electricity buzzed around Drowzee as the paralysis took effect. Ian managed to get another Thunder Shock to connect, but Drowzee growled and thrust his hand out. His anger amplified his Confusion and Ian's Zinc Band burst apart, the psychic power attacking his body and mind full-force. **(AN: Critical hit; it actually happened in the game to Ian.)**

Ian was knocked to the ground and blood leaked out of his nose and mouth from the internal injuries. Drowzee stomped over, occasionally held up by the paralysis. "I've had enough of these games. You're finished."

Drowzee lifted his foot to stomp Ian, but a Reviver Seed floated up and attached to Ian's back. The sight was enough to make Drowzee pause as it took root and started healing him.

Ian smiled, "About _time_ she got here."

Martha charged in and Tackled Drowzee in the face. He was knocked flat on his back, and Martha said, "Ian, if you ever put yourself in danger again without telling me, I'll never forgive you."

Ian tried sitting up, but his injuries wouldn't allow it, so he settled for tilting his head, "I _tried_ telling you."

"I know," Martha said contritely. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you, but let me handle the rest of this."

Drowzee had gotten up, and he regarded the Eevee with frustration. Another one? And this one had items? He was already getting tired from that fight with the Pikachu! And he still had the paralysis on him. Things weren't looking so good for him now.

But he hid it as he said, "What, did you two lovebirds have an argument and split up before coming here?"

Martha narrowed her eyes, "Shut your mouth, you big bully. Nobody, I repeat, _nobody_ hurts my friends."

Drowzee started moving to use Confusion, but Martha kicked sand in his eyes with Sand-Attack. While Drowzee was blinded and haphazardly shooting psychic power everywhere, Martha rooted through the Treasure Bag and found a Blast Seed. Holding it in her mouth, she ran forward and Tackled Drowzee again. Then, bouncing off of him, she flipped and crunched down on the Blast Seed, breathing fire on him.

"Arrgh!" Drowzee cried out from the burns and shielded his face as the flames hit him. Martha immediately darted away as he opened his tearing eyes and tried to hit her with Confusion, as he turned to follow her with his eyes, more sand was kicked into his face.

Ian was surprised at the aggressive fighting style that Martha was using. As he tested his body's movements to see if he was healed enough to move, he decided to be a little more careful about what he said around Martha. 'We're friends, and I think I could take her in a friendly spar, but she's kind of scary right now. I wouldn't want that directed at me…'

Drowzee, for his part, felt like he was in a nightmare. He had defeated or outsmarted tons of exploration teams! How could he lose to this no-name bunch?! Trying desperately time and time again to land one of his psychic attacks, he found that he couldn't. One of the major drawbacks of psychic attacks was that the user had to have the target in sight. And he couldn't _see _anything with sand getting kicked in his eyes every half-minute. Drowzee wished that he had taken the Pikachu or even the Azurill hostage, but it was too late now. He couldn't see anything, and he didn't even know where that Azurill kid had been teleported to!

Martha hit Drowzee with another Tackle attack, and he started teetering, looking like he was about to drop. As she moved to finish him, a Thunder Shock attack flew across the room and finished Drowzee off. Drowzee swayed for a bit, then fell over on his stomach, out cold.

Martha turned and found Ian standing up, the last of the energy within the Reviver Seed's roots fading before they crumbled and the seed fell and lost its glow, becoming a Plain Seed.

Martha ran over to Ian, "Are you okay, Ian? You weren't hurt too badly, were you? I'm so sorry, all of this is my fau-"

"No, it's not," Ian said. "You didn't cause all of this to happen. Drowzee was the one who held Azurill here against his will, and it was going to happen whether or not you believed what I said." He gave her a firm glance to remind her to keep it a secret, and then continued, "What's most important is that Azurill is safe. On that note… Azurill! It's safe to come out now, wherever you are!"

At Ian's call, Azurill came out from a nondescript area near one of the edges of the peak. He had been hiding behind a medium-sized rock ever since he was warped near it.

The two of them met up with Azurill and Martha said, "We're here to rescue you. Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Azurill shook his head and nodded towards Ian, "I'm okay. He helped hide me from Drowzee."

Martha smiled, "Great! What a relief! Your big brother's waiting. Let's go home!"

"Okay," Azurill said with a nod.

"What about him?" Ian said, jabbing a thumb in Drowzee's direction. "How do we get him to the police?"

"Oh, that's easy," Martha said as she took out the wanted poster of Drowzee. "You just take your badge, and do this." She took off her badge and pressed the front of it to the picture of Drowzee, leaving an outline of the badge written in light over it, before throwing it on top of his unconscious form. Drowzee was surrounded by a golden light, and he was warped away. Martha's and Ian's badges glowed shortly afterwards, and Martha said, "And now, we can use our badges to warp out of here with Azurill."

The three of them grouped together, and they were warped back to the entrance of the dungeon. They were surprised to see a Magnezone and two Magnemite there with Drowzee in tow. Turns out that Marill had already called the police, so Drowzee was warped to them when they arrived.

Magnezone spoke up, "ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer in this region! ZZZT! Thanks to you… We have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again! ZZZT!" Magnezone turned to Drowzee, "ZZZT! Now come with us! ZZZT!"

Drowzee groaned as he was led away.

"Azurill!"

The three Pokémon turned and Marill was standing there. Azurill sniffled, "Marill!" They ran to each other, and Azurill started crying when he reached his big brother. "Waaaaaah! Marill! It was so scary!"

"You okay, Azurill? Are you hurt?" Marill asked.

Martha shook her head, "He's fine. The little guy's not hurt in any way."

"Really?" Marill asked. Then he sighed, "That's a relief!" His eyes started getting teary, "Oh, Azurill… Azurill…"

Ian smiled, "I'm happy for the two of you."

The two of them turned to Ian and Martha. Marill bowed in thanks, "You did this all for us, Ian and Martha. We won't forget what you did for us. Thank you so much." He turned to Azurill, "Come on, Azurill, you too."

Azurill sniffled, "Yup… Thank you very much! Thank you for rescuing me!"

"Really…" Marill said, "Really, thank you!"

After the two brothers left and Team Rapid made their way back to the guild, Ian noticed that something was weird about the Treasure Bag. It seemed… less full. He asked Martha about it, and she pulled the flap open, revealing that the item level inside seemed to have dropped.

"What…? But it has the same amount of items…" She looked and found a note taped to the inside of the flap. Ian pulled it off.

_"__In recognition of Team Rapid's early outstanding achievement, you have been rewarded with an enlarged Treasure Bag._

_"__Use it well._

_"__-Exploration Team Federation"_

Martha leaned over and read it, "Wow! We're already moving up! That's great!"

Ian nodded and said, "So, Martha, can you tell me more about these revolving panels that the two boards are placed on?"

* * *

><p>Once Ian and Martha got back to the guild (Ian had the Treasure Bag again), Chatot was waiting for them in front of the Outlaw Notice Board. He nodded in acknowledgement, "I've received the bounty from Officer Magnezone for the captured outlaw! Well done, you two! Here's your share for the job. It's yours to keep."<p>

Martha was the only one surprised when they received a small bag with 300 Poké. As Ian put it in the Poké Pocket, Martha said, "No way! This is all we get?! After all our effort…"

Chatot only said, "But of course! It's all part of the training!" He smiled, "And we expect just as much effort tomorrow! Hee-heeee!"

Martha groaned and turned to Ian, "It would be nice if they'd give us a slightly bigger share of the reward."

"It would be nice," Ian said, "but it's not going to happen."

Martha bounced back, "But that's all right. We managed to rescue Azurill. And it's all thanks to you, Ian! Because of- er, you-know-what, you learned about Azurill's trouble in advance, and got there to help."

Ian shook his head, "It would've all been for nothing if you hadn't come in when you did. Thank you for saving me."

Martha smiled, "We're a team! We look out for each other."

"But…" Ian said, "I think that we need to have a talk about something. I've noticed that this town doesn't really-"

Ian was cut off as there was a loud growling sound. Martha blushed, and Ian realized that the growl came from her stomach. He snickered, but then his stomach growled too.

Martha laughed, "Ha ha ha! Your stomach growled too, Ian! I guess we must be famished! We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that I didn't notice at all!" Both of their stomachs growled again, and Martha said, "Come on, let's go get dinner, Ian."

As they headed down the ladder, Ian said, "I guess it can wait until afterwards."

Later that night, after dinner, everybody in the guild went to sleep. Or rather, they tried to. A massive storm had rolled in, complete with rolling thunder and crackling lightning. Ian, for his part, was high-strung because of it. Since he was an Electric-type Pokémon now, having so much lightning in the air was driving him up the wall.

Regardless, he sat cross-legged on his bed and crossed his arms as he put together what he was going to say to Martha in his head. Martha was looking out the window and she said, "Wow, that lightning's intense!"

"I know," Ian mumbled, "I can _feel _it…"

Martha didn't hear and she said, "It looks like it's really stormy tonight…" Then she gasped and turned around, "That reminds me! You know the night before we met, Ian? It was storming that night! I found you out cold on the beach the day after that stormy night, Ian. So do you remember anything about being out cold on the beach? Can you remember anything at all?"

Ian very clearly knew that it was storming the night he arrived. He flew _through_ it. He briefly imagined flying through said storm in his current form. He shook his head, 'I'd attract the bolts like a lightning rod…'

Martha took his head shake for a no, and said, "I guess it won't be that easy. But that's all right. You got your memory of your ability back. Try remembering a little at a time." Ian decided to let it slide, since he was going to answer that he remembered nothing else anyway.

Martha sat down on her bed, "We have to get up early again tomorrow. What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Ian nodded and uncrossed his arms, sitting slightly more relaxed. "What I wanted to talk about with you was good and evil. I've noticed that this town isn't exactly the most… perceptive community. I mean, when an outlaw can waltz right into a town just because he _says_ he's a nice guy or offers to help out of nowhere, it's time to re-evaluate the way you judge character."

Martha tilted her head, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Most people see good and evil as two exact opposites. Two constants. This or that. Black and white," Ian started.

Martha nodded for him to continue.

"However," Ian continued, "such a thing isn't that simple. First, right and wrong aren't ironclad and set in stone. The two things are subjective. For example, outlaws feel that they are doing the right thing for themselves, and they don't care about who might get hurt. As such, exploration teams hunt them down and bring them to justice. But, to them, what they're doing is right, and we're the villains in their world.

"Second, there aren't just the two extremes. If you mix black and white, what do you get?"

Martha raised an eyebrow, "Gray, obviously."

Ian nodded, "Correct. But with different amounts of black and white, there's a wide variety of different ways that someone can be. Drowzee acted nice and was good when it suited him, but it was only a mask, so to speak. On the flipside, a good Pokémon might be forced to do something that might immediately seem bad, but is actually for a much higher reason that's good."

Ian didn't know why he was bothering to tell Martha this. Perhaps he didn't want her to be tricked so easily in the future… Or, maybe, he was hoping that explaining this to her now would help her understand what he would have to do.

Martha seemed to be thinking really hard. Ian turned to lay down on his bed, "You don't have to say anything now. Try sleeping on it." He yawned. 'I'm actually pretty sleepy tonight from all the work today. I think I'll actually just sleep tonight and investigate the panels tomorrow.'

Martha nodded, "You've given me a lot to think about. Maybe some sleep would be good."

The two of them tried to sleep as the storm raged on outside. After a while, Martha said, "Say, Ian. Are you still awake, Ian? I've been thinking about it since it happened. That ability you have… Maybe it has something to do with you personally, Ian." Ian said nothing, but shifted to let Martha know he was listening.

"I can't quite say why. I sure don't know any other Pikachu who dreams about the future or past. That's why I think those two events are connected. That's the feeling I was getting."

'Keeping up this facade is getting harder and harder… She's just so… helpful about trying to "restore my memory…"'

Martha continued, "I don't know what you were like before, Ian… But I think you must have been a good person." Unseen by Martha, Ian smiled a bit. "After all, Ian, it's your ability that helped us catch that bad Pokémon. You know… Time is getting messed up, bit by bit, all over the world. No one seems to know why."

Ian had to try very hard to not tell her _precisely_ why time was falling apart. He froze at her next statement.

"But everyone believes that the Time Gears are somehow involved."

Ian used all of his self-control to keep his voice nonchalant, "I heard that name being murmured while I was looking for tips. What's everybody think about them?"

"They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world. Like in a forest…"

'Treeshroud Forest…'

"Or at a lake in an underground cavern…"

'That could either be the Underground Lake or Limestone Cave…'

"I've even heard that there is a hidden altar inside a volcano."

'_That_ one is false.'

"At the center of such places… is what's known as a Time Gear. The Time Gears serve a very important function. Each one protects time and keeps time flowing properly in its region. But… what happens if a region loses its Time Gear? I don't really know the answer to that question. But my guess is that if a Time Gear is removed from a region… The flow of time in that region will probably stop too. That's why everyone makes sure never to disturb the Time Gears. Everyone has long been certain that some kind of disaster would strike. So everyone stays away from the Time Gears and doesn't tamper with them. Even the most hardened criminal Pokémon know to avoid messing with them."

Ian's thoughts darkened. 'This… is going to be harder than I thought… For Pokémon to grow so paranoid about something that they avoid investigating how to fix it… Once we begin our operation, every Pokémon in this world, maybe even those who've come to see me as a friend, will be trying to stop us, Grovyle…'

* * *

><p>As the storm rumbled across the continent, the eastern forests were not spared. From west to east, coast to coast, the entire landmass felt the storm's downpour. For anybody to be out in such weather would be considered the height of insanity.<p>

And yet, one figure was indeed out that night. He grit his teeth as the storm rumbled and crackled. He had a new-found hatred for storms since one had separated him from his partner and best friend. He had spent the past few days looking, hoping to find him, but he could no longer afford to wait. They had both agreed that the mission should and _would_ always come first, regardless of what may happen to them.

'It's not like we necessarily have a happy home to return to.'

Flitting through the path with the ease that his form allowed, the figure left sprays of water droplets each time he moved. Once he saw a glow up ahead, he put on an extra burst of speed. He skid to a stop once he saw what he and his partner came for.

Taking a step forward, the figure said, "Do my eyes deceive me? Could it be…? Yes, it is!"

Lightning illuminated the area for a split second, revealing the figure to be a Grovyle. He took another step forward, "I've finally found it! A Time Gear! But… this is only the first of many…"

Only the storm clouds and lightning were witness to the Time Gear being taken that night.


	6. Chapter 6: The Last Hurrah?

Chapter 6: The Last Hurrah?

The next morning, Martha was sleeping soundly, but she registered herself being shaken. She tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but then after a pause in the shaking, she heard, "Clear!"

Remembering the time she'd last heard that, she tried to move, but she still got shocked, effectively ending any chance she had of going back to sleep. She stood up and glared at Ian as he just picked up the Treasure Bag.

"I was getting up that time," she said.

"Didn't seem that way to me," Ian replied. "I'll stop when you start waking up earlier."

After the morning address, Chatot called out to them and said, "Let me give you your assignment for today. Look up jobs on the Job Bulletin Board and Outlaw Notice Board. Do the listed jobs. That will do for today! Understood? No shirking you work, okay?"

The two of them nodded, and Chatot said, "If you understand, get on with it!"

Ian and Martha went up to the upper floor, and looked at the boards. All of the outlaw missions appeared to have been taken already by a team of three Poochyena. But there were still plenty of regular missions.

As they looked them over, Ian spotted only three that they could feasibly do. A rescue and an item search for Beach Cave and a rescue for Drenched Bluff. The rewards were fairly good too. A Red Gummi, among other things, a Reviver Seed, and – he had run the calculation in his mind – 150 Poké, among other things.

He discussed taking those three missions for today with Martha, and she agreed. After they left with the three job letters in tow, they started discussing plans for going to Beach Cave for today.

On the way to Treasure Town, the two of them noticed a Spinda dancing around a boulder near the crossroads, saying, "Hopes and dreams… This is…" He seemed too absorbed in his own thoughts to pay them any mind.

They stopped off at Treasure Town and Ian saw some Pokémon that hadn't been there yesterday. An Ursaring and a Teddiursa, who mentioned how Pokémon can't seem to evolve lately, and the exploration team, Team Glee.

After stopping at Kecleon Market, Ian had noticed that they were selling Sleep Seeds that day. He brought this to Martha's attention and said that one of the other missions for Beach Cave had been asking for a Sleep Seed.

"Wow," Martha commented, "good memory."

After they bought it, along with an extra Oran Berry, they made a quick trip back to the guild to take the aforementioned job. After that, they headed south from the crossroads to the Beach Cave. Along the path, they ran into one of the Krabby that lived around there.

"Ahoy!" he greeted. "Are you headed to the beach? Well… Would you keep an eye out for something, if you could?"

Martha tilted her head, "What is it?"

"Recently…" Krabby started, "there have been bottles washing up on the beach… It looks as though there's something inside those bottles… If that sounds interesting, you might want to look for bottles on the beach."

Ian raised an eyebrow, "Bottles washing up on the beach? It could be messages in there, maybe somebody writing for help. I guess we could keep an eye out for them when we get a chance. Like right now."

As they headed for the Beach Cave, they kept their eyes peeled, and they saw a bottle washed up on the beach. Sure enough, there was a letter inside of it. After Ian pulled out the cork, he shook out the rolled up letter and it was a job letter requesting a Slumber Orb at Drenched Bluff, with a Pecha Scarf offered as a reward.

Martha said, "I guess we can hold onto that one. We're the only ones who know about it, and we can possibly find the item later."

Nodding, Ian tucked the bottle and paper into the Treasure Bag and walked to the entrance of Beach Cave. Once they were there, Martha said, "Ian, did you remember to accept the jobs? You have to open the letter in order to alert the client that you're going to take their request. Otherwise, you can't do the mission, even if you go to the meeting place."

"Oh, thanks Martha." Ian took out the three missions to Beach Cave, and popped open the seals. After he did, the paper inside was revealed, and Ian looked around for a few seconds. "Doesn't feel like anything happened…"

Martha shook her head, "Nothing happens, but the client knows when to meet up."

Shrugging, Ian put the open letters back in the Treasure Bag and the two of them went into the cave.

Ian noted that the enemies were considerably weaker than those at Drenched Bluff. And all of them were Water-type Pokémon, so he was able to sweep them aside with little effort. Once they found Lileep, the Pokémon they were to rescue, on the second floor, their badges started glowing. But they still had more missions to do at the dungeon, so Martha said, "Just ignore it, it goes away after about 20 seconds if you don't press it to leave."

On the next two floors, they found the White Gummi that they were supposed to locate and they delivered the Sleep Seed to their client, Nidorina. After that, they activated their Explorer Badges to leave the dungeon.

Once they were out of the dungeon, they waited at the guild until their clients arrived to give their rewards. As usual, Chatot took 90 percent of whatever money they got, but they got the Reviver Seed and a few gummis.

That night, after everybody was asleep, Ian snuck out of his room again and moved up to the upper floor, where the mission boards were. Moving as quietly as he could, so as to not wake up Chatot, he walked up to the Outlaw Notice Board and tried pushing the left side as hard as he could.

It didn't give, and he tried the right side for good measure. Nothing. 'Dugtrio manages these boards, maybe there's some sort of special way to push them, or maybe there's a lock behind the board.' Ian tried pushing harder, and he felt it give a little, but the instant it did, it snapped back into place, not having enough force to be flipped all the way. He froze at the sound the board made, but since Chatot didn't come down, it must've not been loud enough. Ian sighed; that was the reason, right there. He simply didn't have enough strength in his puny arms to flip the panel.

'If I had my old arms, I could do this! Then again, if I were still a human, I probably wouldn't even be here at the guild. Well, I guess that settles it. No point lamenting my puny form; I'm just going to have to poke around and wait for my moment to slip away once I locate Grovyle. Maybe I can keep trying the panels as I grow stronger. It gave a little, so that's something. I'll just keep trying. But there's nothing more I can do tonight.'

With that settled, Ian turned and went back to bed for the night.

* * *

><p>The next day saw Ian looking a little bleary-eyed as he woke up at his usual time. After all, he had done his night investigation along with a full day of missions. He would have to start alternating when he just slept and when he investigated the guild before sleeping.<p>

After he and Martha reported for the morning address, before Chatot could give them their assignment, they were charged with covering sentry duty for Diglett, since he was covering for his father, Dugtrio.

After Loudred explained how the sentry job worked, Ian and Martha made their way down the tunnel to the area under the grate. It wasn't that hard to find, since it was the only lit area in the entire tunnel, besides the entrance to it back in the guild.

While Loudred was explaining, Ian briefly contemplated his chances of escaping through the sentry post. But he mentally shook his head. 'I saw that grate. It's firmly fixed into the ground. I won't get through any way short of breaking it.'

Regardless, he did his day's assignment with Martha. There was no time for missions that day, as the sentry duty took up the entire day. They managed to identify every visitor correctly until Diglett got back and got rewarded with 500 Poké, a Joy Seed, a Ginseng, and a Life Seed.

That night, Ian went straight to bed since he wouldn't be able to make any progress on escape tonight anyway. No point losing sleep if there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

><p>The following day had been just like any other would. Ian and Martha did missions, three of them, to be exact, for Drenched Bluff. While they were planning that, Ian picked out some missions to Mt. Bristle that they could do the day after that. Hopefully, they would be able to find a few more missions on the day that they were leaving.<p>

While they were leaving for Treasure Town, instead of the Spinda from yesterday, they saw a Wobbuffet and Wynaut standing in front of the boulder. Ian heard the Wynaut say, "Right here, right?" before the Wobbuffet saluted and shouted, "That's right!"

On the way to Kecleon Market, they stored a majority of their Poké in Duskull Bank. Duskull was more than happy to open an account for them. As Ian handed 1,000 Poké to be deposited, he looked at the somewhat medium-sized bag which contained the Poké that he had pulled out of the pocket. It got him thinking. A bag like that didn't necessarily _have_ to be used for Poké, right?

He filed that thought away for later as he and Martha continued on their way towards the market. As they approached, Martha shied away from a rather sinister looking exploration team comprised of a Weavile, a Drapion and an Arbok that were talking near the market on the intersection. Ian paid them no mind; if they didn't bother them, Ian and Martha would probably be left alone. The dark-looking trio seemed too absorbed in their discussion to notice them, anyway. He managed to catch snippets of their discussion, along with the name "Zero Isle."

The two of them bought a little food to put in storage for later, but they didn't find the Slumber Orb that they needed at the market. As such, they could only do two of the three missions that they had for Drenched Bluff.

Martha had managed to locate the Lileep that they were supposed to rescue by looking out over the water. He had been hiding from the other Pokémon in the dungeon that were trying to attack him. Holding up her badge, along with the letter, he was warped out of the dungeon.

The Kabuto outlaw that they were tracking down tried to run away as soon as she spotted them, but a quick Thunder Wave from Ian took that option away from her by severely limiting her movement. After that, it was simply a matter of time before she was beaten into surrendering. Albeit, it was a tough outlaw and a slow process that had to be repeated a few times, but they won out eventually.

With those two missions complete, Team Rapid went back to the guild that day with their heads held high at catching an elusive outlaw and rescuing another Pokémon. They received their rewards – which included a Power Band that was given to Martha in place of her Blue Bow – and went to bed for the night.

Both of them had gotten a little stronger after their missions, so Ian tried pushing the board again that night. Again, it gave a little, but did not flip all the way. However – it could have been his imagination – Ian did feel it give a little more than two days ago.

* * *

><p>At the morning address, Chatot had something else to say, and he didn't look happy to say it.<p>

"Er, ahem. Everyone, listen up. I have an important announcement to make. Far to the northeast, then farther into its outermost reaches… There lies a place named Treeshroud Forest…"

Ian stiffened slightly at the name mentioned. Everybody else was too preoccupied watching Chatot speak to notice.

"In Treeshroud Forest…" Chatot continued, "Time has apparently stopped…"

Everybody except Ian was shocked, but he schooled his face into one of incredulity, so he avoided suspicion. There was clamor from the other apprentices, asking for clarification.

Chatot obliged, "Yes, that's correct… time has come to a standstill in Treeshroud Forest… The wind has stopped… The clouds are motionless… Dewdrops on leaves won't fall… They just hang there, suspended. In Treeshroud Forest, time itself has truly stopped."

"T-time has stopped?!" The usually stoic Dugtrio shouted in disbelief.

Sunflora seemed to be thinking, "But… How could something this awful happen?" Something seemed to occur to her, and she said, "It's unthinkable!"

Chatot nodded gravely, "Yes, the unthinkable has happened. Why has time stopped in Treeshroud Forest? Well, it's because Treeshroud Forest's Time Gear was… stolen!"

Everybody seemed to be in shock and disbelief, and Ian had to put very much effort into stilling his tongue from trying to tell everybody that the Time Gears were being taken for a much greater reason. That the freezing of time would be much, much worse if they weren't taken. However, he knew that doing so would land him in this world's equivalent of a mental institution. He hated to let everybody think that Grovyle was in the wrong here, but-

The proverbial record needle scratched in Ian's mind as his eyes widened. 'Grovyle! He's on the move! Treeshroud Forest… Wow, he wound up far away if that's the first Time Gear he's going for. No… Think of how Grovyle would want to do things… He must want to avoid detection as long as possible… so he's going after Time Gears that have either no guardian or secretive ones! If that's the case… Limestone Cavern! He'll _definitely_ go after that one next! If I can intercept him…'

Loudred's angry voice cut into Ian's thoughts, shouting over everyone's clamor, "I don't get it, though! Why would ANYONE take a Time Gear?!"

Chatot flapped his wings and called out, "Quiet, everyone!" Once the room quieted, he continued, "Officer Magnezone has already started an investigation. It's hard to believe that anyone would dare steal a Time Gear. But if one Time Gear can be stolen, the others may also be in danger. The officer asked to be notified immediately if we notice any suspicious characters. So keep that in mind. Let us know if you notice anything. That is all. All right, everyone! Here's to another busy day of work!"

"HOORAY!"

Chatot turned to Ian and Martha as everybody dispersed, "Oh, you there. You two, come here. You've become quite good at your work. I'm impressed with your capture of Drowzee. That was very admirable! So! You all will finally be assigned a mission worthy of a proper exploration team."

Martha's eyes sparkled, "R-really?! Yay!"

Ian smiled on the outside, but he wasn't all that concerned. 'It won't matter after tonight. I can't afford to let the trail go cold. I'm going to have to chance the climb along the face of the cliff and get to Grovyle!'

Chatot motioned to Ian, "Let me see your Wonder Map." He unrolled it, and a map of the continent appeared on the parchment. Chatot pointed with the tip of his wing, "Treasure Town is here. And…" He drew an imaginary line northeast, "over here is where we would like you to investigate." His wingtip came to rest at a cliff with a waterfall, "See? There is a waterfall flowing here. By all appearances, it's just an ordinary waterfall. But we've received intelligence that the waterfall may conceal a secret. And that's where you come in. We want you lot to investigate the waterfall and determine what's there. That's all. Do you understand what this mission entails?"

Ian nodded, and Chatot smiled, "Good! All right, I'll leave you all to thoroughly investigate the waterfall!" Then he noticed Martha, "Huh? What's wrong? You're shivering." Martha started to get teary-eyed, and Chatot said, "A-are you all right?"

Martha shakily nodded, "Yep. I'm okay. It's just the anticipation that's making me nervous. This will be our first real job as an exploration team. I'm getting a bit emotional…" She turned to Ian, "Ooh… I'm bubbling over with excitement! Let's do our best, Ian!"

Ian nodded and smiled. Her enthusiasm was a bit contagious. He supposed that he could assist her with her first real exploration mission as a farewell gift.

As he and Martha passed through the upper floor, they were called by Chimecho. "Oh! Ian! And Martha too!"

Martha turned and asked as they walked over to Chimecho, "Oh? What is it, Chimecho?"

Chimecho gestured with her tiny arms at the desk, "I just started an Assembly here. Today, in fact."

Martha tilted her head, "Assembly?"

Chimecho nodded, "Yes! For assembling your team! Have you two ever considered adding members, Martha?"

"Other members?" Martha questioned. "Well, sure! It'd be cool to add other members! If there were more than just the two of us… It sure would help when we explore dungeons!"

"Well then!" Chimecho replied. "You need to start recruiting new members!"

Ian tilted his head, interested now, "How do we start?"

Chimecho smiled and said, "I'll just ring the Friendship Bell for you, Team Rapid! Here goes! Hey-yah!"

Chimecho's body swung back and forth, and a light flashed twice along with a clear bell sound. She smiled, "Now Team Rapid has the power to recruit new members!"

"R-really?!" Martha asked.

Chimecho explained, "Yes! From now on, while battling Pokémon in dungeons… You may earn respect from some of them… and those Pokémon will then ask to join Team Rapid. Once you have recruited a Pokémon, you can bring it along with you on dungeon explorations. To bring a Pokémon along, visit my Assembly, then choose which members should join your team for the exploration. Always see me when you want to assemble a team that includes recruits!"

"Wow!" Martha bowed her head, "Thank you, Chimecho!"

As they passed by the crossroads, the two of them noticed a staircase with a trapdoor at the bottom. There was a sign next to the staircase as well.

"'Spinda's Café,'" Martha read aloud, "'A Shop of Hopes and Dreams, Opening Soon! Win Big!' That's what it says. It seems like there will be a new shop here soon, huh?" She said, turning to Ian. "But 'Hopes and Dreams'? I wonder what kind of shop it is… Let's come back after it opens and find out."

Ian didn't respond. He wasn't going to make any promises.

At the market, they bought extra food to put in storage and a Spurn Orb from the senior Kecleon brother, in case they got cornered by a large group. As they passed by the crossroads, Martha said, "Wait, Ian. This'll be our first exploration; we'll want to record it in our Adventure Log!"

They stopped at the well, and a book with the words "Team Rapid" written on it floated up. There was a feather inside the cover, and it was a really thin book with a few pages written, and a few blank. Despite having floated up from the water, both items were completely dry. Martha explained that the leader – or co-leaders like them and other teams like them – could access the Adventure Log to write in it.

As Ian wrote, he thought. 'Only Martha or I can access this book… I suppose that could be useful to remember.'

After they departed for the waterfall, Martha said, "Ian, is everything all right? You've been acting kind of distant since this morning after the announcement Chatot made… Are you worried about the Time Gears?"

Ian raised an eyebrow. Had he been that obviously worried? He needed to exercise better control of his emotions. But he had no problem smiling and saying, "A little, but I won't let it get in the way of our mission today. It's great that they trust us with this. It's the next step towards your dream!"

That deflection was just what he needed to change Martha's train of thought, causing her to fantasize about possible future explorations. Of course, she was thinking of her and Ian exploring together. Ian knew this, and he didn't say anything. He knew it would be difficult for Martha; she had grown rather attached to him, after all. But this was bigger than both her and him. It was simply what had to be done.

Within a short time of traveling, they arrived at the waterfall that Chatot had told them about. Ian looked at the cascading water. 'Nothing like this back home…' he thought.

Martha seemed to be thinking outloud, "So this is the waterfall that's supposed to have a secret…" She moved a bit closer, and the force of the falling water pushed her back. "Waah! The water's pounding down!"

Ian moved a bit closer. He was a bit curious about how a real waterfall felt. He put his hand forward and held it as close as he could to the water. Tiny streams of stray droplets rained down on his entire arm. Running water. Another foreign sensation. In his short time as an explorer, he'd experienced more than he had in his entire life back in his own time. He tried moving closer to get a more direct feeling, but he pulled his hand back with a shout of surprise as soon as it experienced the full force of the waterfall.

Martha tilted her head, staring at the waterfall, "If you fell under this waterfall, I think you'd get pretty battered up. I didn't think it would be pouring down this hard! Where should we even start look-i-n-g?"

As Ian listened to Martha, her speaking seemed to slow down as he felt the pre-symptoms of his ability. 'Why does this keep happening around this Pokémon? Why do I keep activating the Dimensional Scream?'

The familiar light flashed across his sight and he received a vision.

_'__A shadowy figure was staring at the waterfall, and walked a few steps away from it. Turning around, the figure rushed and jumped straight into the waterfall. The space behind the waterfall was revealed to be hollow, leading into a cave. Rolling to minimize impact, the figure expertly rolled to its feet and looked around before moving deeper into the cave.'_

The light faded, and Ian stared at the waterfall more carefully. 'If what I saw in that vision is correct, which it always is unless the future is changed, then that means that we need to go _through_ the waterfall.'

He told Martha about his vision, and she turned to him and said, "What?! You had another vision and saw a Pokémon leap into the waterfall… and there's a hidden cave behind it?" She looked back at the massive and raging waterfall. "Hmm… But it looks like that water is crashing down really hard. Imagine if there was actually a solid cliff wall behind that waterfall! Yeesh… If we tried to jump through… We'd be pounded badly!"

Ian crossed his arms, "Would it be worse than returning empty-handed for lack of trying?"

"I guess not…" Martha replied hesitantly. "Well… Okay. I'm going to believe you, Ian! Yes! I totally believe in you!"

The two of them walked back and Ian tried to ignore the stab of guilt at the phrase, "I believe in you."

As they turned around to face the waterfall, Martha shook a bit, "Eek!" But then she stopped and shook her head clear, muttering to herself, "Okay, I have to be brave now! If I get scared and fail to leap through at full speed… I'll be crushed no matter what I do! If I'm going for it, it has to be without any hesitation. Be brave… Use all your courage!"

Martha turned to Ian, "Ready! Let's go, Ian!" He nodded, and Martha counted down, "Three… Two… One… Now!"

They both charged forward and leaped straight into the waterfall. They both felt the full force of the cascading water for a split-second before they met air and landed on the cave floor. Neither of them were very graceful with their landing, and had a few scrapes from landing wrong.

Martha groaned in pain for a few seconds, but she stood back up shook the water off before looking around, as did Ian. Martha said, in wonder, "What is this?" She cheered, "Yes! It _is_ a cave! You were right after all, Ian!"

'One would think that she'd realize my visions don't lie.' Ian thought petulantly.

Unaware, Martha's eyes sparkled as she said, "Let's go explore this cave, Ian! Let's see what secrets it holds!"

As they journeyed through, it was another dungeon that had large channels of water through it, meaning that enemies could sneak up on them if they weren't careful. Picking up any items that they found, they were also scanning for potential recruits.

Martha was elated when a Psyduck offered to join their team. His water attacks would cover Ian's weakness to Ground-type Pokémon, and when his psychic powers developed, he'd be able to handle Fighting-type Pokémon too.

"And my special abilities prevent explosions from triggering and keep you all and me safe from getting hurt by stuff like Sandstorm and Hail!" He really seemed to be trying to sell his abilities. **(AN: Damp and Cloud Nine, respectively. Remember, you get both in this Mystery Dungeon game.)**

Martha and Ian agreed to have him on the team and Martha cheerfully gave the Psyduck the nickname, Psymon. **(AN: pronounced, "Simon", for those who don't get it.)**

The instant he was accepted, a light shone on him and a badge formed on his chest. Psymon pumped his fist enthusiastically, "All right! Now let's get going!"

Soon after they recruited Psymon, they hurried along. While it was great that they had a new member, the native Pokémon were proving fairly tough. A Whiscash had knocked Psymon out and used the only Reviver Seed that they had taken with them. And all of the Ground/Water types were taking their toll on Ian. Psymon wasn't strong enough to handle them, and Martha couldn't handle all of them by herself.

With a new recruit, the group decided to focus on finding the stairs as soon as possible each time. Lying low, they passed through the remaining three floors with minimal encounters. As they reached the ninth floor down, they felt a shift in the atmosphere. As if they had gotten out of the mystery dungeon and at the lowest, naturally-formed part.

The three of them looked around, there were sparkling gems practically littering the ground of the chamber. Martha looked around, "Wow! Will you look at that, Ian! Psymon! Look at all the gems sparkling!"

Psymon was looking around and Ian inwardly conceded that they were quite a sight to behold. Martha's attention turned to the back of the room, "Wow, look over there! It's a gigantic gem!" She moved towards it, along with Psymon, and said, "Oh, wow! I've never seen a gem this immense! This is an incredible treasure! Everyone will be amazed if we take this back."

Ian didn't say anything as Martha tried to pry the giant, pink gem out of the ground. He could clearly see that the giant gem was a trigger for a trap. Pokémon, whether from an exploration team or not, would typically go for the large gem, and overlook the small ones. Typical psychological trick, playing off of greed. The reason he didn't say anything is that Martha had to learn that traps come with the territory of being an explorer. This would teach her a lesson in watchfulness.

Martha stood on her hind legs and grunted with effort as she tried to pull the gemstone out with her front paws. She dropped back to the ground, "Nope, it's not budging… It's really stuck tight." She turned to Ian, "Can you give it a try, Ian?"

'We're severely tempting fate here, but fine.' He nodded, but as Martha waited he handed the Treasure Bag to Psymon and said, "Do me a favor and see if you can get any of the small gems out of the ground to put in there."

Psymon saluted, "You got it!"

While Psymon walked over to a small purple gem nearby that seemed less stuck in the ground than the others, Ian walked up to the giant gem. And tried pulling it. He decided to put some effort into it; he could be wrong about it being a trap, after all.

He pulled, once, twice, three times, but achieved no more progress than Martha. He panted from the effort and turned to Martha, shaking his head.

Martha said, "So you couldn't move it either, Ian…" Then she grew determined, "But we can't just give up. If we try hard enough, we'll probably get some sort of result!"

'Yeah, a trap triggered.' Ian thought sardonically. Martha said, "I'm going to give it another go, Ian!" As she walked over, there was a slight cracking sound and an "Oof!" sound. Ian turned and saw Psymon flat on his back with the purple gemstone in his hands up in the air.

"I got one!" He shouted triumphantly. Psymon put it in the Treasure Bag and hefted himself up to waddle over to another gem, this one blue.

Martha strained, and grunted, and struggled as she tried to budge the giant gem at least one inch out of the ground. Ian smiled; this was starting to become amusing. His amusement was cut short as his vision dimmed.

'Again?' was the only word he had a chance to think before he saw the light streak across his vision again. While he was watching, he observed the figure's shape more closely, trying to remember where he'd seen it before.

_'__The figure walked into the room full of crystals and looked around. He noticed the giant gem and started trying to pull it out. When that yielded no results, he tried pushing it. The gem moved back with a click and a tremor started rumbling through the cave. The figure looked around hurriedly and noticed something approaching from his right, just in time for him to be washed away by a flash flood.'_

The vision faded just as Martha stopped trying to pull out the gem and was trying to catch her breath. Ian had changed his mind about not telling her. While he could swim – he had learned how just like any other human – and Psymon was a Water-type Pokémon, Ian didn't think Martha could swim.

Just as she started trying to pull again, Ian called, "Martha!"

"Huh? Wah-!" As Martha turned her head, she lost her balance and leaned on the gem for support. Doing so caused the gem to be pushed back with an audible click. Ian froze with his mouth hanging open.

As the trembling started, Martha said, "Huh? What's happening?" Ian looked to the right side of the chamber and already saw the water starting to become choppy. Psymon pocketed the blue gem in the Treasure Bag and said, "I think there's some sort of trap!"

There was the sound of rock shifting, and everybody turned to the direction Ian was looking at, and Martha said, "Wah! It's a flood!"

The three of them tried to run, but were swept away by the rush of water. Ian fought to keep his head above water, and he looked around for Martha, but couldn't see her. He felt great relief when he saw her emerge with Psymon supporting her. The flood kept washing them through the cave until they were forcibly shot out of a geyser.

Psymon was still holding onto Martha keeping her afloat when the three of them found themselves in a Hot Spring. Martha detached herself and stood up in the water, for it was quite shallow. She looked around, "Huh? What…? Where are we?"

One of the Pokémon they had met yesterday, Teddiursa, walked up to them, "Hi, hi! Are you two okay? You plopped down from nowhere! Oh, you startled everyone!"

Ian stood up as well, "Where are we?"

"This is the Hot Spring," Teddiursa replied.

A Torkoal walked up, "Indeed! This is the Hot Spring. The Hot spring works wonders on tired muscles and creaky joints. Many Pokémon visit here. Tell me, youngster, have you a map?"

Ian turned to Psymon, "Psymon," he stood at attention, "It should be in the side pocket on the inside of the bag." Rifling through for a moment, Psymon produced the slightly soggy Wonder Map and unrolled it. Torkoal looked at it and pointed with one of the claws on his front leg, "There. We are here. This is the Hot Spring's location."

Martha nodded, "Oh. Okay." She pointed to the waterfall, "The waterfall's located here, so…"

Psymon whistled, "That underground flood washed us all the way over here!"

Torkoal said, "My goodness! It was the water that carried you all this way? What a long journey that must have been! Let the Hot Spring wash away your fatigue before you make your way home."

Martha nodded, "Good idea. We'll do that. Thanks, everyone!"

As Martha soaked near the edge, and Psymon floated on his back, Ian had his eyes closed and did some reflecting while he sat up to his neck in the water. He had helped Martha with her first exploring mission, and they had "discovered" a dungeon. He was no fool, he knew that the visions he got were of the past, but he decided to keep it quiet so it wouldn't be a damper on Martha's achievement. He couldn't fathom why Wigglytuff would assign them to explore an area he himself had discovered, but Ian mentally shrugged his shoulders. Also, Psymon had helped ensure that they didn't get home empty-handed. The two small gems would be a good achievement for their level as explorers.

He felt the water near him stir, and he opened an eye, thinking that it was Psymon floating by, but it was Martha. She asked, "Are you ready to go, Ian?"

He smiled and said, "Yes, I'm ready."

As they left the Hot Spring and made their way back to Treasure Town, Ian's thoughts darkened. 'I'm sorry, Martha, truly I am. But this is for the best. It would've never been a permanent team, anyway, and there is so much more at stake than just one Pokémon's personal feelings.'

Psymon was excitedly talking about how he'd always hoped that he'd manage to get picked up by an exploration team to go on adventures. Martha responded that she and Ian were glad to have him.

'Tonight… is the last night you'll see me.'

* * *

><p><strong>I think that this is my longest chapter to date. I won't always write out their day-to-day missions in summary, but since it was only two days' worth of missions and sentry duty, I thought it'd be alright. Let me know, if you want, in a review on what you think about my approach.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Reunions, Both Good and Bad

**Friendly reminder that I don't own Pokémon. I ****_did_**** write the song "Four Vales" all by myself, though, so I ****_do_**** own that. :)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7: Reunions, Both Good and Bad<span>

After Team Rapid got back to the guild, Psymon passed on the Treasure Bag to Ian, and waddled off to see Chimecho about living arrangements. Taking the ladder down to the lowest level, Ian and Martha both gave their report to Chatot about what happened, being careful to omit Ian's Dimensional Scream.

Chatot nodded, "Hmm. Let me see if I've got this all straight. Behind the waterfall, there is a cave… In the deepest part of the cave, there was a room full of gems in the ground, two of which you managed to excavate," he pointed at the purple and blue gems set on the ground, "along with a gigantic gem… When you pushed on the gem, it triggered a trap of some kind… And, surprisingly, you were flushed off to the distant Hot Spring? Is that the gist of your report?"

Martha was hanging her head in shame, "Yes. It's awfully disappointing that we couldn't bring the gem back…"

Chatot laughed, "No, no, no! Emphatically, no! This is a major discovery!"

Martha looked up, "R-really?!"

"Undoubtedly!" Chatot affirmed. "After all, the presence of the cave behind the waterfall… No one knew about that before now!"

Martha smiled, "Oh, I see! We made a discovery!"

Ian kept his thoughts on the matter to himself. Why spoil Martha's fun? Chatot continued, "Your waterfall discovery is just amazing! The Guildmaster must be told! Also, treasures discovered are ordinarily shared among the guild, but you can consider the two gems you found as your reward. Think of them as trophies for your first exploration! Nevertheless, I shall expect your best effort tomorrow!"

Martha nodded cheerfully in agreement and Ian just stood there with his usual passive expression.

* * *

><p>That night, after dinner, Martha was simply on top of the world. They had completed their first exploration mission, discovered a new dungeon, and even got to keep the gems they got as souvenirs!<p>

She turned to Ian, who was staring out of the window at the moon up in the sky. "What's wrong, Ian? You look kind of down… We should be happy! Today was a huge step forward for us as an exploration team!" She took out her Relic Fragment and set it on the ground in front of herself. "And I know that I'm getting closer to solving the secret of my Relic Fragment. If _that_ ever happened, I'd surely faint from sheer happiness!"

Martha laughed, and after a brief pause, Ian turned around with a smile, "I'm fine, Martha. Just thinking about what the future will hold for you and me."

Martha tilted her head as she picked up her Relic Fragment and put it away, "You know, I've noticed that you space out a lot. Do you have _that _much to think about all the time? But seriously, thanks…"

At Ian's questioning look, she smiled, "I can explore because of you, Ian. Yep… I'm the biggest chicken around, and even I managed to work up the courage! And it was all because you were with me, Ian. Seriously, Ian, thanks!"

Ian smiled and nodded, but on the inside, he was growing worried. 'This won't be pleasant for her. I need to find Grovyle, but… am I being selfish? I want to let Grovyle know that I'm okay, and I'd like nothing more than to fight by his side again as we collect the Time Gears. But… Martha… Is there a way that I can try helping both ends…?'

At that point, Chatot walked into Ian and Martha's room and said, "Hey, you two! The Guildmaster wants to see you right away."

They followed Chatot to Wigglytuff's chamber and stood at attention while Chatot said, "Guildmaster, I've brought you Team Rapid." There was no response. "Guildmaster… Guildmaster?"

Wigglytuff abruptly turned around, "Hiya! Your team went through a lot today! Yes, a lot-lot! But don't worry! I'm keeping watch on your activities! I should tell you why I called you here. We're planning to mount a full expedition soon!"

Ian raised an eyebrow, and Martha asked, "An expedition?"

Chatot explained, "Yes! The guild will go to explore someplace far away! It's much harder than exploring our nearby area. That's why we need to prepare for the big trip properly. We carefully choose which guild members go on the expedition."

Martha seemed to understand what they were getting at, "Really?!"

Wigglytuff nodded, "Usually, we would never, ever consider rookies to be expedition members. But you two are working so very hard! That's why we're making a special exception this time! We decided to include you in the list of candidates for the expedition!"

Even Ian knew that it was a huge honor, and Martha said in disbelief, "R-really?!"

Chatot waved his wing, "Now, now! You haven't been chosen as expedition members yet. There is still time before we set out on the expedition. If you fail to do good work before then, you cannot expect to be selected for the expedition."

"I'm sure you two can do it!" Wigglytuff cheered. "Try hard!"

Martha nodded, "Yep!" She turned to Ian, "An expedition! Isn't it fantastic, Ian? My pulse is racing all of a sudden! Let's try our best and make sure we get picked for the expedition!"

Seeing Martha's hopeful expression only served to make Ian feel worse. But he forced a brittle smile and nodded, not trusting his voice to hold steady. Thankfully, Martha was too excited to notice Ian's reluctance.

* * *

><p>As everybody went to sleep for the night, Ian stayed awake, as usual. This time, however, he did some thinking instead of just waiting.<p>

'If I just leave in the night, it'll be a huge disgrace. Not just to me, but to Martha and our whole team! Damn it, why do I even _care?!_ I came here fully prepared to sacrifice everything and anything that it took to complete what Grovyle and I set out to do. And now, after barely a _week_, I'm having second thoughts?!'

Cracking an eye open, he looked at Martha, who was already soundly asleep. 'What _is_ it about her? Ever since I met her, I've triggered the Dimensional Scream in, not one, but _four_ instances with objects that have nothing to do with Time Gears… Is there something I'm missing? Maybe…'

Ian's gaze fell to the cloth sack that Martha always carried tied to her side, which contained her Relic Fragment. 'She always carries that… but I've never touched it, only looked at it. She did say she "happened" to find it… Maybe I should take a closer look; see if I can trigger the Dimensional Scream.'

Ian sat up on his bed and padded over quietly to Martha's side. It was no trouble sneaking the Relic Fragment out of the bag. He held it in his hand and once again examined the strange pattern as he waited to see if anything would happen.

'I've never tried to trigger one intentionally… Most of the time they just, well, they happened when they happened.' As he thought that, he felt the dizziness again as his vision dimmed. He felt it stronger than he ever did before. It took all of his balance to not keel over on the spot. Rather than see a light streak across his vision before spreading, a single ball of light manifested in the center of his vision and flared out.

_'__Ian and Martha ran onto a circular platform, in a place that he'd never seen before, that was glowing a myriad of colors and had a ring of light coming out of the ground. As they stepped on it, it levitated off the ground and took off, leaving a rainbow in its wake._

_'__The circular platform had a larger, more elaborate version of the pattern on Martha's Relic Fragment, and they rode the platform all the way to a blue and silver tower in the sky. The tower had a ring of storming red clouds over it.'_

The vision faded and Ian nearly fell over from exhaustion. He was breathing hard and looked at the Relic Fragment in his hand. 'This… why was this pattern on that platform?! And it was at a place I had never seen before, even when researching the past! And… that blue and silver tower! It _had_ to be Temporal Tower! But… Where was Grovyle? He should've been there, not Martha! What happened?!'

He glared at the Relic Fragment, as if that would make it confess the secrets of the vision he'd just seen. Even though his ability allowed him to locate the Time Gears, it had a major drawback when looking to the future. He only knew _what_ would happen and not _how_ it would happen.

'I need to see Grovyle about this. _Now!_'

Ian slipped the Relic Fragment back into Martha's bag and headed over to the Treasure Bag. Unlike his original plan, now he needed a way back into the guild after he found Grovyle. He whispered to the Poké Pocket, "500."

After reaching in, he pulled out a smallish-medium bag of Poké. Once he had it, he quietly emptied out the Poké back into the pocket and loaded an Apple, an Escape Orb and the Wonder Map into the Poké bag. For good measure, he also took an Oran Berry and ate it to put him at peak energy after that vision he had.

Ian repeated the process to get another bag and tore a strip quietly to make something to tie to the bag hang it over his shoulder. Once he was done, he looped the bag over his head, the strap going across his chest and back, so it didn't slide off his tiny shoulders. Throwing the now torn Poké bag, Ian made his way out of the room.

He moved as silently as he could through the halls. 'All right, forget the tunnels, I'm finding the highest window that I can and I'm risking the climb. Let's hope that I can still climb as well as I used to…'

Ian's new, somewhat haphazardly formed plan was comprised of three steps: One, climb around the face of the cliff, to get to the stairs on the other side. Two, find Grovyle and relay the information to him. Three, after step two, find any mystery dungeon and use the Escape Orb to be warped back.

Chatot's warning echoed through his mind. _"You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if either of you faints."_ 'I just hope he meant "here" literally, as in inside the guild.'

Climbing up to the upper floor, Ian made sure to be extra quiet as he approached the window. He took a deep breath and reached up for the sill, squirming through the crossed bars of wood that made it a window. Keeping his eyes straight ahead and only looking to his right to see where he could find purchase with his hands and feet he went over Grovyle's advice in his mind.

'Remember what Grovyle taught you. The most important thing is to not. Look. Down.'

He saw something up a little higher and went back in the guild to stand on the sill and climb up to stand on one of the bars off wood. From there, Ian reached out and pulled himself up, using the topmost bar of wood as support before making the slight leap to get his feet on the rough patch of rock.

'Okay. I'm making progress. Don't look down. Focus on what you're holding and what you're going to grab next.' Ian looked to his left and saw that the rough patch continued for a bit before it became smooth again. But there was a rocky outcropping about two feet below where this patch ended.

'Damn it! Why do I have to be so short?!' **(AN: Pikachu: 1' 04".)**

Ian tried looking higher. He remembered that the staircase meant that the cliff was narrower as he climbed higher, meaning that he'd have to circumnavigate less distance if he climbed higher.

'Zero distance if I climb up all the way.' He thought flatly as he looked at the fifteen foot distance to the top of the cliff. But, regardless, he spotted that this patch continued upward and led to a rugged part that had many jutting rocks that could provide handholds for him.

Making his way higher, he was determined to get around this cliff one way or another. 'If only I had some balloons, I could probably float my way straight to the top.'

As Ian arrived at the patch of jutting rocks, he made sure to test each one of them with his hand or foot before putting his whole weight on it. Light as he was, he didn't want to risk falling from holding onto a rock that was too loose.

Moving from one rock to the other, he looked on to see that there was a small distance of smooth, sheer rock before the staircase. Moving to a highest, closest rock that Ian could manage to get on, he concentrated his strength into his legs and right hand, and sprung from the rock, reaching for the ledge with his left hand.

Stretching his arm as far as he could, he felt his hand hit the flat surface and gripped as tight as he could, pulling at the same time. He barely held on and swung his weight to get his other arm on the ledge. Ian grappled with the uneven ledge until he managed to pull himself on it.

Panting, he caught his breath as his body's adrenaline died down. 'That was close… All right! Now… Treeshroud Forest is far to the northeast and Limestone Cavern is on the southern peninsula.' He unrolled the Wonder Map and looked at it. The east and south parts of the continent were obscured by clouds, but Ian had enough information to figure out a plan.

'If I head east, I should be able to find Grovyle if I look hard enough. There's one thing that I can try to track his location. I don't know how many days it's been since he took the Time Gear from Treeshroud Forest or how much distance he's covered going south.'

Ian looked at the moon which was somewhat high in the sky, but still in the east. 'If I don't find him before the moon starts setting, I'll have to go back to the guild and try again some other time.' He thought about the perilous climb that he had to undertake to get on the staircase. 'Oh, I hope I find him tonight…'

Running as fast as he could, Ian took the stairs down, no longer needing stealth, and turned left to leave town.

The moon moved across the sky as he ran, and it was all he had to go on in relation to how much time Ian had left. Moving east, he passed by Mt. Bristle before the moon had made much progress. He saw a small wood on his right as well, and looked to see a mountain range in the distance.

Stopping, Ian took out the Wonder Map, unfurling it to look under the moonlight. He was approaching unfamiliar territory now. 'It looks like this mountain range is right between Treeshroud Forest and the southern peninsula… Going through it would slow Grovyle too much for his tastes. If Grovyle took the eastward route, the range would cut him off, and he'd have to make his way through it regardless. It seems I'm in luck!'

Ian took a closer look. The western route around the range passed right by where he was! 'Knowing Grovyle, he'd cut through this little corner of the range here to make his progress around the range to Boulder Quarry, where he can find Limestone Cavern deeper down. I'll want to go further south for good measure before I start calling out for him.'

The plan for drawing Grovyle out once he thought he was in his approximate location was something that only Ian himself knew. That would be sure to make Grovyle investigate.

Heading south, and holding the map in his mouth as he ran, Ian went around the woods that he had seen earlier, following the map by keeping to southwest, so he wouldn't get boxed in by another corner of the range. Once he started reaching the coast and moved along it, he rolled up the map. He had to try here; he was right up against the cloud-obscured portion of the map.

He looked up at the moon. It had just gone past its highest point and begun moving west. 'It's now or never!'

Taking a deep breath, Ian opened his mouth and began to sing a song. The lullaby that he had sung for Grovyle when he was a Treecko. Memories of their time growing up flooded Ian's thoughts as he sung at the top of his voice.

_"__There o-o-nce was a hero, traveling every which way~  
>"Trav'ling 'cross four vales for his place to say good-bye~<br>"The first vale, dubbed Spring Vale, ev'rybody would sa-a-y~  
>"The winds there, so gentle, would kiss you as you went by~<em>

_"__There o-o-nce was a hero, traveling every which way~  
>"He had seen Spring Vale, but it's not his place, you know~<br>"The second, called Summer Vale, perfect place to pla-a-y~  
>"Green grass, clear water, and the fruit aplenty that grow~<em>

_"__There o-o-nce was a hero, traveling every which way~  
>"Two vales, now traveled, neither were for him, you see~<br>"Third vale, the Fall Vale, not many travel that wa-a-y~  
>"A vale past its prime, and with leaves falling from the tree~<em>

_"There o-o-nce was a hero, traveling every which way~  
>"He would complete his journey, tha-at he would show~<br>"Last vale, named Winter Vale, a visit that all men pa-a-ay~  
>"Frosted trees… soft snow… crisp air… and peace for all to know…<em>

_"__There o-o-nce was a hero, traveling every which way~  
>"Found his place… for good-bye… now he rests… That's all… to say~"<em>

"…I always fell asleep before the final verse and refrain." Ian whipped around and saw Grovyle standing on the ledge above him.

Grovyle was staring at him, "Ordinarily, I'd ask who you were, but there's only one person in the entire world who knows that song…" He jumped down from the ledge and landed in front of Ian.

Once Grovyle looked at him, and Ian got a real look at his best friend, he saw the hope in his eyes. Hesitantly, Grovyle said, "Is that really you…? Tell me your name!"

The Pikachu smiled, and he said, "My name is Nate. And words can't express how happy I am to see you again, Grovyle."

Nate found himself swept up in a hug in an instant. He was surprised, to say the least. 'Just how worried _was_ Grovyle?' Awkwardly, he hugged as much as he could with his short arms. After a short while, he was put down and Grovyle said, "It really _is_ you! I thought… I had thought you didn't survive that blast of lightning during the trip! I tried finding you; where exactly did you wind up?"

Nate unrolled his Wonder Map and pointed near Treasure Town, "I was over here, on the western side of the continent. But, listen, I found out something very important to our mission. I should probably start from the beginning."

For the next few hours, Nate relayed everything that had happened since he'd woken up as a Pikachu on the shore of Treasure Town. He explained about Martha, his lie about having amnesia, and how she would've followed him if he hadn't formed an exploration team. Grovyle nodded, showing that he understood why Ian did what he did.

Omitting most of the unimportant details about the day-to-day missions, he discussed what happened while he was biding his time waiting for a lead to search for Grovyle. When he got to the Dimensional Scream triggering, Grovyle seemed intrigued. "That's never happened before… Perhaps it's something to do with being in the past… Nevertheless, continue."

As he got to the vision he got from Martha's Relic Fragment, Grovyle seemed shocked, his eyes wide in surprise. "A place you had never seen before… And the tower… That place must have been the Hidden Land! You said the pattern on her stone was the same as the one on the platform you two rode?"

Nate nodded, "It was more complex, but it's pretty easily recognizable once you see it."

Grovyle crossed his arms and thought. At length, he said, "Nate, while it tears me apart to say this, I believe that you should go back to this guild that you mentioned." He held up his hand as Nate started to protest, "I saw the Escape Orb. You had every intention of going back, and I can see why. If this Martha is supposed to be with you when we get to the Hidden Land, so be it. But for that, you need to stay by her side." Grovyle smiled, "I am glad to see that you are fine, regardless of your form."

But then his smile fell, "Besides… I've had a bad feeling lately… I have a feeling that if we stay together, we'll both get captured. I don't know how the accident caused this, but you have a disguise and an alias; use them. Try to find out how the Relic Fragment is tied to the Hidden Land."

Grovyle gestured over his shoulder, "There's a mystery dungeon known as Tiny Meadow that way. Use your Escape Orb to return." When he looked back at Nate, Grovyle had a completely serious look on his face, "Also, Nate, do both yourself and her a favor and try not to let her get too attached to you or you to her. For both your sakes, it's best that it doesn't happen. You _know_ what will have to happen at the end."

Nate knew perfectly well what Grovyle was referring to, and he nodded.

* * *

><p>All was quiet inside the guild. On the upper underground floor, there wasn't anything to see. But, among the quiet, a blue circle of light formed on the ground in front of the Job Bulletin Board. Suddenly, Nate was warped straight on top of it.<p>

He took a quick look around and let out a quiet sigh of relief. He still had a few hours before sunrise, and he'd gone with less sleep before. It would be a tired day tomorrow, but he'd get through it.

As Nate went down the ladder and back to his and Martha's room, he thought about the new objective of his mission. Grovyle would gather the Time Gears, and Nate's job would be to research the Hidden Land and the Relic Fragment's connection to it. By extension, he was also supposed to help Martha along, since for some reason, she was supposed to go to the Hidden Land too.

Nate would be lying if he said that he didn't find his new arrangement a lucky situation. He was working to complete the mission, and he wouldn't have to leave Martha at such a crucial time. He remembered Grovyle's words, _"do both yourself and her a favor and try not to let her get too attached to you or you to her. For both your sakes, it's best that it doesn't happen."_

'Too late,' Nate thought ruefully. Even a blind Pokémon could see that Martha thought the world of "Ian". 'Perhaps… before Grovyle and I leave for the Hidden Land, a dose of the truth would make her think less of me. I _have_ been lying to everyone, after all, not even to mention being associated with a "criminal" like Grovyle. And the future can be changed. I don't want Martha to be there.'

Nate's thoughts darkened. 'The Relic Fragment… That'll be the hardest thing. Martha hardly ever puts it down. I need her to willingly use it, and for that she'll need to know what it's for. She's naïve, but she's not stupid, she wouldn't just loan it to me without me telling her the reason why. And the instant I told her the reason why, she'd insist that she come along to help.'

As Nate arrived at his room, Martha was still asleep. He quietly put the Apple back in the Treasure Bag and put the empty Poké bag back in its pocket. After discarding the torn strap out the window, he laid back on his bed.

'Tomorrow, I'm Ian again. But I also have a mission as Nate.'

* * *

><p>The next day, Nate at first turned away from the rising sun as he was roused out of his sleep. But when his half-conscious mind realized the time, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. Picking himself up, he walked over to Martha and shook her awake. This time she actually woke up, but in retrospect, he had shaken her rather roughly.<p>

When Martha took a look at him, she said, "Um… Ian? You don't look so good. Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Ian" thought back to last night, and the vision he had, "Yes. I had a nightmare. But I'll be fine. Come on; let's get to the morning address."

That day, Chatot made the announcement about the plans for the expedition.

"Ahem! As I was explaining… there is a lake far to the east. There are many aspects of that lake that remain mysterious. We hope to unravel those mysteries. And so, our guild is planning to mount an expedition for the first time in a while."

Everybody was eager about the expedition and the chance to go along. Loudred spoke up, "But… That means you're going to be picking members for the expedition from ALL of us again, right?"

"Precisely!" Chatot replied. "We will depart in several days. Over these next few days, we will choose the most worthy apprentices. The chosen members will form the expedition party. Everyone, work hard so that you may be chosen for the expedition!"

"Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!" Sunflora cheered.

Bidoof added, "Yup yup! I've yet to go on an expedition. I would surely love to go this time!"

"Let's work at it and get picked as members!" Loudred shouted.

Chatot called out, "All right, everyone. It's back to work as usual."

"HOORAY!"

Everyone dispersed, and Chatot turned to Nate and Martha, "Ah, you two. Today, I want you two to check the Job Bulletin Board and the Outlaw Notice Board and handle their listed jobs. That will do for now."

Nodding, they went up the ladder and Martha said, "Let's try to do as many jobs as we can. Then we'll have that much better a chance for getting picked!"

Nate nodded as he turned towards the Job Bulletin Board, "Let's go check now…" He trailed off as he spotted a familiar pair in front of the Job Bulletin Board. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation. 'Great, just great. It's far too early to have to deal with these clowns…'

Martha turned where Nate was looking after noticing the sour expression on his face, "What are you looking at? Wait, those Pokémon… Haven't we seen them before?" The two that Martha and Ian were looking at were Koffing and Zubat.

At the sound of Martha's voice, Zubat turned their way and said, "Hey!" The shout caught Koffing's attention and he noticed them too, shouting, "You two?!"

Martha thought for a moment and said angrily, "Ah! I remember you two! You're the thugs that tried to swipe my Relic Fragment! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Koffing regained his composure and said, "Whoa-ho-ho! I'll have you know that we're an exploration team too."

"Heh-heh-heh. What's so funny about an exploration team checking out the Job Bulletin Board?" Zubat added.

Nate raised an eyebrow as Martha looked shocked, and he said, "If you're an exploration team, then where are your badges?"

Koffing smirked, "Well, the way we operate isn't always… by the book." Then he turned to Martha, "But what a surprise! Why would _you _be here?"

Martha spoke hesitantly, "We wanted to become exploration team members. That's why we're training here at this guild."

Koffing shouted, "What?!" and Zubat said, "You want to become a real-deal exploration team member?!"

The two of them looked each other and moved towards Martha, Koffing saying, "Come with us for a second." They stopped moving forward when Nate glared and his cheeks sparked. Koffing said, "Whoa-ho-ho! Ready to start a fight for no reason? We just wanna have a word with your partner."

Nate didn't like it, but there was nothing that he could do unless they started the fight first. Koffing and Zubat ferried Martha to the far side of the room and began talking with her.

"Now don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way," Koffing said. "You should just forget about being on an exploration team!"

"What?! Why?!" Martha shouted back.

"Well, you're timid," Zubat said. "You scare easy. A scaredy-cat like you can't cut it on an exploration team."

Martha moved back towards Nate, "It's true that I'm timid…" She turned back to them with a determined expression, "But that's why I'm in training! So I can overcome my own shortcomings! Even now, I'm working hard to get picked for the guild's expedition!"

While it was great that Martha was standing up for herself, Nate wished that she hadn't revealed that little detail when Koffing said with interest, "Oh? An expedition, you say?"

Zubat snickered, "Heh-heh. Well, effort only gets you so far. You won't get picked for the expedition party if you don't have talent, right? It all comes down to talent… pure talent!"

Martha snapped, "B-big talk! You sure talk a lot about talent, but what kind of skills do you have? You're so weak, you even lost to us!"

'What kind of insult is that? You just insulted us along with them,' Ian thought.

Koffing smirked, "Whoa-ho-ho! Well, we didn't have the Chief with us."

Martha was suddenly unsure, "Ch-chief?"

"Heh-heh. That's right," Zubat said.

"Team Skull, our exploration team, has three members." Koffing added.

Zubat grinned, "Our chief is incredibly talented."

Koffing had the same grin, "To put it bluntly, he's brutally tough."

"Heh-heh. If the Chief were around, we'd snap you like a twig." Both of them seemed to perk up and Koffing said, "Whoa-ho-ho! Speaking of the Chief, I can smell him coming now!"

"Smell?" Martha questioned.

"Here's the Chief!" Zubat said.

Nate and Martha turned as a Skuntank climbed down the ladder. Nate was in his path, and the Skuntank said, "Move! Out of the way!" Before Nate could say or do anything, he was sprayed by a foul-smelling gas, making him paralyzed from the stench.

Martha started to run over, shouting, "Oh, Ian!" But she was forced to stop as she approached the cloud of foul-smelling gas. "Ew! What is this awful stench?"

Everybody on that floor of the guild started shouting in surprise and disgust as the gas spread across the room. Everybody's attention was now on their side of the room. As Skuntank moved towards Koffing and Zubat, Martha was in his path. He said, "Move it! Or do you want to end up like that wimp over there?!"

Martha shook in fear and stepped aside. Skuntank moved towards his team and they praised him for showing up Team Rapid. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Skuntank said. "So, you two, did you sniff out any jobs that'll bring in the cash?"

Koffing shook his head, "The Job Bulletin Board only posted cheap tasks, but…"

"There's something else, Chief. It's got the potential to go big…" Zubat continued.

Zubat fluttered closer and whispered something in Skuntank's ear. Skuntank grinned, "What? An expedition from the guild? That does sound tasty."

Koffing grinned, "Doesn't it?"

Skuntank gestured up the ladder with his head, "Let's get out of here. We need to do some plotting. Come on. We're going."

Both Koffing and Zubat cheered, "Yeah!"

As the trio left, Skuntank went up the ladder and Koffing said to the apprentices staring, "What are you all staring at? This isn't a public performance!" Everybody nervously turned back to what they were doing before.

As Koffing floated up, Zubat turned to Martha and Ian, who was still paralyzed, and said, "Heh-heh, see you around, wimps."

After they were gone, Martha ran over to Ian, "Are you okay, Ian?!"

Nate rubbed his head. His sinuses were still burning from the horrid smell that had been sprayed at him. He stood back up and joked, "That's an unpleasant way to be fully woken up, but I'm fine."

Martha sighed in relief, "That's great!" But then she seemed to get sad, "That goon was rough, though. I couldn't work up the courage to challenge him to his face! Even though he knocked you out, Ian… I let you down… They're right… I am a wimp… A big chicken."

"Now, hold on a second," Nate said. "If you _had_ stood up to him, you would've just gotten sprayed too. But that doesn't make you weak for standing down. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."

Martha sniffled, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Ian… But… But I really am a wimp…" She shook her head, "But it's nothing new for me… I've decided that I can still do my best even if I'm not very brave. I'm not giving up over something like this." Standing up straight again, Martha smiled, "I'm going to be cheerful and keep trying. Thank you, Ian! For now, we'd better keep working like we've been doing. Today we're supposed to handle the jobs on the Job Bulletin Board and Outlaw Notice Board. Let's keep at it, Ian!"

Nate nodded, glad that Martha wasn't going to let Team Skull get her down, and they moved to look at today's job posts.


	8. Chapter 8: Like a Game of Chess

**Sorry that this took so long. In any case, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8: Like a Game of Chess<span>

Nate, Martha and Psymon walked out of the newly re-opened Marowak Dojo. It had been at Ian's insistence that they spend some time training that day. Because when a whole team struggles against your garden-variety Wooper, it's time to start doing some extra training.

Nate thought back to earlier that morning, as they had passed by the crossroads. After that… spectacle called advertising from Spinda and company for their café, Chimecho had recommended that they have their recruits (i.e. Psymon) meet up with them there instead of at the path leading out of town. Martha happily agreed, and it made no difference to Nate.

After meeting up with Psymon at one of the tables, they started planning the day's activities. They had four missions for Mt. Bristle and four for the Waterfall Cave. They decided to do the missions from Mt. Bristle first, that way, they could possibly find more missions to Waterfall Cave tomorrow.

On the way to Kecleon Market and Kangaskhan Storage, Nate had noticed the Marowak Dojo further south, and said that he wanted to check if it was open. It was, and the Dojo's sensei, Marowak, never looked happier to see a group of Pokémon in his entire life.

Marowak explained how the dojo worked – that they lose all items when entering, but not when exiting – along with the time conversion that allowed exploration teams to train for long hours without losing much time to do missions. After the explanation he offered to let Team Rapid train for free in his dojo as much as they wanted. This sounded great to Nate, and he suggested that they spend a few hours training in one of the mazes.

Martha said, "It's fine, we can pull through anything as long as we do it together!"

Nate crossed his arms, "Need I remind you how we had to sneak by most enemies on our last mission?"

"Gonna have to side with Ian on this one," Psymon added. "I could stand to be a little stronger."

They picked out the Normal/Flying Maze and started training after Martha dropped off all of their items at Kangaskhan Storage**. **From training in there, Nate learned Quick Attack, Martha learned Growl, and Psymon learned Disable.

Deciding that they had trained enough for the day, the three of them restocked their items and set out for Mt. Bristle.

* * *

><p>On the third floor of Mt. Bristle, Team Rapid had been sweeping aside the enemies with relatively little effort, thanks to their training. As the three of them were prepared to move on, a voice called out to them, "Wait!"<p>

Turning around, a Starly was flying towards them; from the sound of her voice, a female. She landed in front of them and caught her breath. "I was watching from far away after you defeated me. I'm glad I caught up before you moved to the next part of the dungeon. I want to join your team!"

Nate recalled this Starly from a few rooms ago. She got paralyzed by his Static after attacking him and he finished her with Thunder Shock. If he gave her anything it would be that she has guts, attacking an Electric-type.

Martha nodded, "Sure, why not? Your nickname will be… Maribel." The badge appeared on Maribel and she smiled. With a full team of four, Team Rapid moved on to do the remainder of their missions. Along the way, just from being with them a little bit, Maribel learned Wing Attack.

* * *

><p>Team Rapid returned that day with their day's work done and another new recruit to boot. With the missions completed, they were promoted to Bronze Rank, much to Martha's elation.<p>

To celebrate, they went to Spinda Café. It was free, as long as you provided your own ingredients. And with how many fruits, berries and gummis are found on your typical exploration, it was pretty much totally free.

As Maribel told the other team members about herself, Nate thought back to the run-in with Team Skull that morning. 'We'll definitely see them later. No doubt about that.' Sipping his Yellow Gummi soda, he decided to start planning ahead for what they might do. 'They seemed really interested in the expedition… I guess I'll have to wait and see the first move they make.'

"So why did you want to join our team, Maribel?" Martha asked, drawing Nate's attention back to the conversation.

"I guess you could say that joining exploration teams is a sort of tradition for my family," Maribel replied. "They came to visit me every so often. My brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents were all exploration team members. I was the only one still at Mt. Bristle; I was waiting for the right team, you see. Then I saw you three. I'm not sure why, but my instinct says that you'll go places, and I always trust my instinct."

Psymon nodded, "I joined to go on adventures! Psyduck have always been seen as slow and dimwitted, and I want to be an example to prove otherwise!"

"I started this exploration team with Ian to realize my dream of solving the mystery of my Relic Fragment," Martha added. Nate silently mused, 'Well, mystery solved. Not that I can tell you that yet.' "What about you, Ian?"

The question caught him off guard for a bit, with Nate having to remember that he's also Ian, and he said, "Excuse me?"

"Why do you think you're here on this team?" Martha asked.

'Because I could plainly see you wouldn't take no for an answer. But I can't say that.' Nate thought about it for a second, and gave his answer. "I think I'm here to help other Pokémon in trouble."

The others nodded and he didn't supply any further insight. Thankfully, they didn't pry. The reason he gave is the same reason that he came back to the past. To help the Pokémon of this world. To make sure that they never experience the future that he'd grown up in.

The rest of the evening passed by rather uneventfully, Psymon and Maribel went back to the guild's temporary residence for recruits – temporary until they each find a place for themselves – and Nate and Martha went back to the guild, had dinner and everybody went to sleep for the night. Nate had decided to catch up on sleep from the night he had spent searching for Grovyle.

* * *

><p>The next day had come and gone without incident. Unfortunately, Nate and Martha were unable to get their missions to Waterfall Cave done that day, because they had to cover Diglett's sentry duty again. They spent the entire day doing that, and were rewarded for another perfect job done. The rest of the evening passed by, and they went to sleep after dinner.<p>

But having a day where nothing had happened just made Nate even more suspicious about what Team Skull was planning. Unfortunately, he got his answer in an announcement from Chatot the day after.

"Everyone! I have an announcement before we get down to work," Chatot called out. "Let me introduce our new allies."

The other apprentices conversed among themselves, Loudred saying, "Allies? What, more new apprentices?"

"Golly, I wonder what kinds of Pokémon they are." Bidoof added.

Chatot called towards the ladder, "Hey! Over here, please."

At that point, a cloud of gas floated down the ladder, and all of the apprentices were disgusted by it. Nate merely plugged his nose and glared at the ladder as Team Skull descended it. Skuntank had a Treasure Bag, and all three of them had their badges. They wore semi-amiable expressions, and all-in-all looked more like an official exploration team.

Martha yelled, "It-it's them!"

Chatot continued, both him and Wigglytuff seeming unbothered by the smell, "These three are our new partners."

"Whoa-ho-ho! I'm Koffing," he greeted.

"Heh-heh-heh! Zubat here," Zubat said with a smile and slight bow of his head. "Glad to meet you."

Skuntank just said, "And I'm Team Skull's leader. I'm Skuntank. Remember it." He smirked at Nate and Martha, "Especially you two. Chaw-haw-haw!"

Chatot looked between Team Skull, and Nate and Martha. Nate had his passive expression back on, and Martha had a mix of incredulity and anger on her face. "What, you're already acquainted? That simplifies things."

'Making a lot of assumptions here, Chatot,' Ian thought sardonically. But he knew better than to cause a scene, so he held his tongue and glanced at Martha, mouthing, "Stay calm." Martha looked extremely unhappy with it, but she nodded, clenching her jaw.

Chatot didn't see the interaction as he addressed the entirety of the apprentices, "These three aren't joining us as apprentices. They will be joining our expedition to lend us their assistance."

"I beg your pardon?!" Martha couldn't hold it in anymore after hearing that. Chatot turned to her, "Why are you so shocked?"

Skuntank said, "Chatot, sir, it's nothing. That one always overreacts to every little thing. Chaw-haw-haw."

Chatot looked between the Skuntank and Martha, "Hm. Very well, then." Addressing the whole group again, he said, "Anyway, the Guildmaster has made his decision. He has decided that having this trio take part will make us stronger on the expedition. However, it would be impossible to coordinate teamwork if we were to begin working together right away. Therefore, we've decided that the trio should live with us for several days. Though it will only be for a short while, I ask everyone to treat our guests with hospitality."

The apprentices started whispering amongst themselves. Loudred said, "…Doesn't Chatot think something stinks about this? Literally?"

"…Eww. How can the Guildmaster stand this?" Sunflora wondered.

Bidoof added, "I sure hope this expedition ends soon! Yup yup!"

Oblivious to the apprentices' discontent, Chatot said, "All right everyone. Let's get down to work."

Ian didn't even bother with the cheer, and everybody else gave a half-hearted cheer.

"…Hooray."

Chatot tilted his head, "What's this? Where's your usual spirit?"

Loudred shouted, "You gotta be KIDDING! This STINKS! How do you expect us to be cheerful when-" Whatever Loudred was going to say next was cut off by a tremor. "WH-WHAT?"

Nate looked around and saw Wigglytuff seeming to be unhappy, "YOOM… YOOOOOOM…" With every sound Wigglytuff made, the tremors seemed to get stronger. 'Is _he _causing this?!' Loudred's warning on their first day flashed across his mind.

_"__Between you and me, Wigglytuff's got a BIG temper. My advice: do NOT make him lose it."_

"No!" Chatot shouted, "The Guildmaster… His rage is building! If the Guildmaster gets angry, it will be horrific! Everyone! Come on! Be cheerful, even if it hurts!" Doing his best to keep his voice casual with the tremors, he said, "All right, everyone. Let's get down to today's work."

Slightly afraid, everyone said as cheerfully as they could, "HOORAY!"

The tremors stopped, and Wigglytuff had his usual happy-go-lucky expression on his face. Everyone, slightly nervous, shuffled away to their posts. Team Skull lingered behind, and Skuntank said to Chatot, "Chaw-haw-haw! Glad to have met you." Each of them gave their own unique laughs as they left to go to the upper level.

Nate and Martha were the last ones to leave, and Martha whispered, "Something's definitely suspicious about them for sure."

Nate said, "_Really?_ Thank you for pointing that out. I _never_ would've noticed."

Martha whispered angrily, "Is this really the time for verbal jabs? I don't know what they're scheming… But let's be careful, Ian."

Before Nate could further comment, Chatot turned to them and said, "Ah, you two. Take care of the jobs on the boards today, okay? We're counting on you."

They nodded, and started moving up the ladder. Martha started speaking, "So, what were you going to-"

"Shh…" Nate held a finger to his lips and mouthed, "Later." And then they moved up to the upper floor. The apprentices and Team Skull were each on different ends of the room. He looked at Martha, and she nodded in understanding. The two of them casually checked the mission boards and picked out another mission for Waterfall Cave off of the Outlaw Notice Board, and then went up the exit ladder.

After they were outside of the guild, Martha said, "All right, I can understand why you didn't want to risk talking in front of Team Skull, but what were you going to say earlier?"

As they moved down the stairs towards the crossroads, Nate said, "Whatever Team Skull's planning runs deeper than the expedition. They'll do everything and anything that they can to make us look bad. Their plan was already afoot when Skuntank undermined our credibility by saying that you overreact to everything."

Martha was shocked, "Well, what are we supposed to do about it, Ian?"

"Nothing, now," Nate replied. "You just let me worry about this game they're playing. We have our missions, and a new recruit to train in our team-fighting style. On that note, we'll need to go to Marowak Dojo today."

Martha nodded, but she still seemed concerned. As they arrived at the crossroads and turned towards Spinda Café to meet with their recruits, Nate said, "Listen, I'm not going to let them slander our team's name. I'll do everything I can to protect it."

Martha smiled, and Nate was inwardly surprised at how much he meant that. Regardless, he started planning for what he was going to do to counter Team Skull's deception and efforts to undermine their credibility. Tuning out Martha's explanation to the recruits about today's plans, he thought, 'I'd need definitive proof of their true nature. But they wouldn't be dumb enough to try something during the day. But at night…' He nodded, 'I've spent enough time catching up on sleep; time to resume my staking-out.'

At that time, Martha finished explaining the plans for that day, and the entire team stood up to go to Marowak Dojo.

Marowak welcomed them back and noticed that they had another team member. He nodded in approval, "A team must continually expand the different types of Pokémon they recruit, or else the wrong type of Pokémon encountered could spell trouble. I would recommend you next seek out a Grass-type, for fighting Water/Ground Pokémon. Without one, that could be a weakness for your current team."

Nate thought back to their time in Waterfall Cave before, "We've noticed. That's why we're training." Marowak nodded again and they went into the maze. From the time spent in there, Nate learned Double Team, Psymon learned Confusion, and Maribel learned both Double Team and Endeavor.

Satisfied with their current level of strength, after picking up their supplies, Team Rapid set out for the Waterfall Cave to do their missions.

Once they arrived, Nate and Martha told Maribel about jumping through the waterfall. Psymon had already known about it since he lived there until recently. The team jumped through, and went into the cave after giving Maribel's wings some time to dry.

On the fourth floor, they encountered the Corsola outlaw that they were to arrest. Nate's electricity took care of her in short order. Psymon took her wanted poster from the Treasure Bag and handled the transporting process. On the next two floors, they located the items they had to find for their clients, a Sleep Seed and a Scanner Orb – thankfully, Martha was able to easily identify them – and moved on.

The Nidorina outlaw proved tricky, but Psymon's newly developed psychic powers assisted greatly. He was poisoned at one point, but he used a Pecha Berry to heal it after the outlaw was subdued.

The last outlaw, a thief Surskit, wasn't interested in fighting and just bolted after he spotted them. Unfortunately for him, both Nate and Maribel were able to easily keep pace and hit him with Quick Attacks. Thankfully, the thief didn't have a chance to get to a body of water before he was defeated. Martha and Psymon weren't happy about getting left in the dust in the process of catching the outlaw, but they got the stolen Max Elixir back.

* * *

><p>After the completion of their missions, Nate and Martha returned to the guild. With the missions that they had done, Team Rapid was promoted to Silver Rank, which they were proud of. Dinner was served shortly after. Nate and Martha weren't happy about having to sit next to Team Skull, but they just tried to focus on their food and ignore them.<p>

After everyone headed for their rooms for the night, Team Skull was still awake.

Zubat said, "We just had dinner, but I could go for some more food."

"My belly'll never get filled on grub like that," Koffing agreed.

"All right," Skuntank said. "The guild members have all gone off to bed… Let's go find it now."

"Huh? Find what?" Zubat asked.

Skuntank snorted, "What else? The guild's food stock. We'll find their food and give ourselves a proper feast."

Koffing grinned, "I like that thinking, Chief!"

"Okay, let's get to it!" Zubat said.

As Team Skull left their room and started moving across the guild towards the dining hall under the cover of darkness, they didn't realize that they were being watched. After they passed by, Nate poked his head out from behind Croagunk's booth and smirked. 'Not even a day in the guild, and already up to no good? You're making this too easy.'

* * *

><p>"Chatot!"<p>

At the call of his name, Chatot was roused out of his sleep and he flew down the ladder where he heard the call. "What is-?!" He noticed it was Nate. "You again?! What are you doing awake?" He lowered his tone when he noticed the scared look on his face.

Nate shook a bit, "I-I heard a noise coming from the mess hall! I think s-something might've gotten into the food storage, but I'm scared to investigate by myself…"

Chatot nodded, understanding, "Very well. I'll deal with this. You go back to sleep." Nate nodded, still looking scared, and they went down to the lowest floor of the guild before parting ways, Nate turning left, and Chatot turning right, where the sounds of noisy eating were coming from.

Unknown to Chatot, Nate was smirking as he walked back to his room. 'I'll admit that it's easy to fool the Pokémon around here, Skuntank, but now watch it be turned against you.'

Chatot made his way towards the dining hall. 'Whatever this is might _think _they can use the cover of darkness, but they won't escape my sight!' As soon as he was in the room, he used Flash. A ball of light formed at the top of the music note-shaped crest on his head and then it spread its light, illuminating the whole room. His eyes widened as he saw several of the food barrels empty and Team Skull standing in the middle of them with a half-eaten fruit left between them. The sudden light had stunned them momentarily, but when they saw who had walked in, the three of them started sweating.

Koffing could only say, "Uh…"

"We were still… hungry?" Zubat offered weakly.

Skuntank whispered angrily to them, "Shut your traps and let _me_ do the talking!" He turned to Chatot, "Sir, this is a misunder-"

In the time it had taken him to start speaking, the shock had worn off and Chatot's eyes had drifted to the half-eaten fruit between the trio. His eyes widened even further than before, "IS THAT ONE OF THE GUILDMASTER'S PERFECT APPLES?!"

Chatot flew forward and checked the food stock for at least one Perfect Apple, but he found none. He turned his full fury on Team Skull, who had been trying to sneak away while he was occupied. "DO YOU HAVE _ANY_ IDEA WHAT YOU'VE _DONE_?! Those Perfect Apples are _only_ for the Guildmaster, no one else! Back to your room; get out of my sight! Tomorrow, you three go without dinner!"

Skuntank didn't even have time to say anything as he and the rest of his team were chased out of the mess hall by a furious Chatot.

* * *

><p>After the morning briefing, Chatot called out to Nate and Martha. His tone was a bit harsher than he meant, and Martha tilted her head, "Is something wrong, Chatot?"<p>

He shook his head, "Oh, nothing. I'm just a little bit absolutely _livid_ with our three guests. Because of them, our food stock has dropped sharply." Martha was surprised, and Nate said, feigning surprise, "It was them who I heard last night?"

Chatot nodded, "Yes, and thank you, Ian, for reporting to me about it." He took a deep breath and shook his head, "But more importantly, those gluttons ate every last one of the Perfect Apples we had. Your assignment today is to go get more to replenish our stock."

"Perfect Apples? What are those?" Martha questioned.

"They're very big and very delicious Apples. But more than that, they are the Guildmaster's favorite food! If there were no Perfect Apples, the Guildmaster would, um…" Chatot suddenly got very dodgy and started cringing, as if remembering a bad memory, "The Guildmaster w-w-would… erk!"

Martha said, "Go on. If there were no Perfect Apples, what would happen to Wigglytuff?"

Nate didn't have to hear what would happen; he had seen enough of Wigglytuff's emotional expressions. 'If he causes an earthquake just from his apprentices not being cheery, I don't think I want to know what would happen if he doesn't get his favorite food.'

"The G-Guildmaster would…" Chatot paused for a while. "…Yes, that's what would happen. That's why I'm begging you two to get some Perfect Apples. Ordinarily, I'd force Team Skull to do it, but I fear they might simply eat them on the way back."

"Uh, what did he just say?!" Martha whispered to Nate. "I didn't hear! It'll really bug me, not knowing! But, oh well." She said to Chatot with a smile, "Sure, we'll go get some. You can count on us!"

Chatot smiled for the first time that morning, "Good! Perfect Apples can be found deep in Apple Woods." Then he got serious again, "Now, listen, this may seem like a simple errand, but it's a crucial job. After all, this is about the Guildmaster's… erk!" Chatot cringed, but then he pulled himself together again, "So please don't fail!"

Martha nodded, "Okay!" She turned to Nate, "Let's keep doing our best, Ian!"

The two of them started going up the ladder to get ready for an exploration. Team Skull watched them, and Koffing said, "Whoa-ho-ho! So it was the Pikachu that ratted us out."

"Heh-heh-heh! Let's mess with them!" Zubat suggested.

"Good idea," Skuntank said. "We'll show them not to cross us! Chaw-haw-haw!"

* * *

><p>Nate was humming a happy tune with a huge grin on his face as he and Martha walked to Kecleon Market and Kangaskhan Storage.<p>

Martha said, "You're awfully cheery. Are you _that_ glad that Team Skull got punished?"

Nate gave her a sideways glance, "Are you saying you're _not_?"

She gave it some thought, and then replied cheerfully, "Nope!"

After they packed up for their exploration, they picked up Psymon and Maribel, and then set out. Nate checked the Wonder Map after Psymon passed it to him, and remembered the woods that he had seen when he had been searching for Grovyle.

He passed the map back to Psymon and said, "We just follow the river north of town and it's a straight shot east after Waterfall Cave."

As they made their way there, Psymon handed out everyone's items to equip. "Okay, that's the Pecha Scarf for Ian, Blue Bow for Martha, Power Band for Maribel and a Zinc Band for me."

After they arrived and found a clearing surrounded by trees with Apples growing, Martha said, "This must be the entrance to Apple Woods. According to Chatot's story, we need to get to the deepest part of the woods. That's where the Perfect Apples should be. Let's get this done right!"

They ventured into the woods, and the terrain changed around them, the trees knitting together into wooden and leaved walls, and forming into rooms and corridors. Psymon kept track of where they were on the map, since he didn't have to physically attack most of the time. He had his Water Gun and Confusion moves to attack from a distance, and could use Disable with a glance to paralyze an opponent that got too close, so he could afford to have his hands hold the map.

Maribel was a huge help with her Wing Attack in clearing out the Bug and Grass-type Pokémon. With the four of them working together, they managed to make their way through the forest with relative ease.

As they made their way to the sixth floor barely breaking a sweat, Nate said to Martha with a smirk, "Told you it was a good idea to train at the dojo." Martha stuck her tongue out in response.

After they cleared out another group of enemies, a lone Combee approached them. Nate got his electricity charged, but the Combee said, "Halt; stay thy actions! We come in peace!" Nate stopped; whether from the speech pattern or the Pokémon not meaning any harm, he couldn't tell.

The Combee looked relieved that Team Rapid was willing to hear them out. "We have heard of exploration teams such as thee. And we have seen more than ample demonstration of thy might. We are a female Combee, and we long to one day evolve into a mighty Vespiquen, but… The Pokémon hither provide challenge no more, and we grow no stronger from them. Would that we could travel with thee, and one day evolve, we would be in your debt always."

Maribel said, "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but my family – I come from a line of exploration team members – has kept me posted, and Luminous Spring has lost its light for some time now, due to the recent problems with time. No Pokémon can evolve right now."

Martha asked, "Luminous Spring…?" But Psymon shook his head and pointed to Combee's flabbergasted expression.

Combee said, in shock, "Then… We are stuck in this body?! No matter how strong we may grow?! Art thou certain that such is the case?! But… we hath seen Butterfree, Beedrill and Gloom in this very wood!"

Nate spoke up, "While it's true that Luminous Spring assists Pokémon with the final jump to evolve, there are times where a Pokémon that has low requirements and/or enough determination can evolve without its assistance." Then, pretending to be confused, he blinked and said, "Wait, how do I know that…?" He had read about Luminous Spring in his studies about the past, and even without it he had seen physical proof that such was the case with his own eyes.

Combee seemed to have hope again, "Then one day, we might… We shall see. Formally, may we join thy exploration team?"

Team Rapid huddled up and Nate raised his hand, "I for one think we should, if Luminous Spring regains its light one day." He was only saying this because he knew that he'd restore its light, along with restoring time. He had to. All the better if Martha had a powerful new team member when he did.

"This Combee would make a great ally it it did!" Psymon said with a nod.

"I don't know," Maribel said. "Combee aren't known to be all that powerful. That's why they're usually governed and protected by a Vespiquen."

"We're all about bringing out the potential in our team!" Martha retorted. "Besides, we don't have a Bug-type, and who says we can't recruit another Pokémon while we're looking for a Grass-type?"

Maribel thought about it and then agreed. The four of them turned to Combee, and Martha said, "We'd be glad to have you on our team! Your nickname will be…"

"If we may interject," Combee said, "We already have a nickname in mind. Might we suggest it?"

Martha nodded, "Sure, let's hear it."

"We would like our nickname to be Regina," she said with all three faces smiling.

Martha nodded, "Sounds good to me. Anybody disagree?" After three negative headshakes, Martha said, "Welcome to the team, Regina!" A badge appeared on the red marking on the lowest face's forehead.

Nate said, "Unfortunately, we're on a very sensitive mission right now, so we'll have to send you back to the guild until we get back."

"We understand," Regina nodded. Soon the badge warped her away, and the remaining four moved on.

Moving forward, Nate learned the move Slam while they were clearing out the Pokémon. As they got deeper into Apple Woods, they started looking around for a Grass-type Pokémon. But really, they could only recruit those who offered to join. Unfortunately, with their food running short, they couldn't afford to look around any longer.

The members of Team Rapid looked at each other and shrugged. They would have a chance to look for a Grass-type Pokémon to recruit when they did missions for this place later.

Focusing on continuing forward from that point on, they returned to where the stairs were on the map and climbed them.

They felt the atmosphere change, and Martha said as they entered a large glade with Apple trees growing all around, "This is the deepest point in Apple Woods, isn't it? According to Chatot, the Perfect Apples should be around here…" She looked around the trees, trying to spot them.

Maribel said, "Er… Martha?" She pointed straight ahead, and the rest of the group looked.

There was a massive tree that dwarfed all of the others, and hanging on the tree were equally massive Apples. Psymon nodded, "Very large Apples… Seems to match Chatot's description."

Martha said, "All right, then… How should we get those Perfect Apples?"

A new voice spoke up, "Chaw-haw-haw! You don't!"

Nate tensed up, "So you followed us here. Why am I not surprised?"

Team Skull dropped down from the branches of the giant tree, and Martha said, "What?! You!"

"Chaw-haw-haw! Team Skull at your service!" Skuntank said with a bow.

Zubat snickered, "Heh-heh. Hey, it's wimpy and company. What took you so long?"

Smacking his lips, Koffing said, "We've been having us a picnic of Perfect Apples while waiting for you to show. What took you so long? Whoa-ho-ho! You took so long, I stuffed myself!"

Martha growled and said, "They're saying they ate the Perfect Apples, Ian. But there are still a few left on the tree. Let's knock those creeps out and take home some Perfect Apples."

"Chaw-haw-haw. If you want to blame somebody in this situation, blame your Pikachu friend. If he hadn't tattled on us, we wouldn't be here to teach you a lesson."

"Liar!" Nate accused. "Even if I hadn't, you'd still be here trying everything you can to make us look bad!"

Skuntank smirked, "True enough. Well, we'll take you on fair and square. Chaw-haw-haw!"

Skuntank and Koffing moved forward, lining up, while Zubat flew back. Martha tensed up and warned everyone in her team, "Everyone, watch out! They're going to try something!"

"Chaw-haw-haw! Let's see if you can withstand this attack. Koffing and I will use our… noxious gas com-gak!" Skuntank didn't get to finish as he was zapped by Nate's Thunder Wave. He was unable to move because of the paralysis, and therefore, unable to add his half of the combination.

Nate had dropped to all fours, his cheeks still sparking and ready to move swiftly, "If you're going to try to make us fail our mission, we might as well make it a battle!"

Martha registered that Ian had thrown the gauntlet, and said, "Yeah! We'll knock you out and complete our mission!"

Nate glanced back at Psymon and Maribel, "If we lose, and don't get any Perfect Apples back to the guild, then this mission will be a failure. Maribel, you take the Treasure Bag and fly up the tree to get some Perfect Apples; Psymon, cover her! Once you get the Perfect Apples, use your badge to return to the guild. The three of us will take care of Team Skull!"

Maribel nodded and Psymon saluted before they started making for the massive tree, Psymon tossing the Treasure Bag up in the air to Maribel on the way.

At that time, Skuntank had managed to take a Cheri Berry from his Treasure Bag and eat it. He glared at Koffing and Zubat, "Don't just stand there, you numbskulls! Stop them!"

"Yes, Chief!"

Koffing floated up and used Smokescreen to cover the area in smoke. He floated up to attack Maribel, but he was batted away with a Wing Attack without any trouble. Maribel continued her flight, able to see right through the smoke. **(AN: Keen Eye: prevents loss of accuracy.)**

'Odd. I expected Zubat to attack too,' she thought. Risking a look back, she saw that Psymon had Zubat paralyzed with blue rings floating out of his body, and his eyes were also glowing blue. 'That must be his Disable attack.' Maribel landed on a branch near one of the Perfect Apples and started pulling at it with her claws to get it off the branch and into the Treasure Bag.

"Grr…! If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Skuntank bit out as he ran to attack Maribel on the tree. But before he could get to the tree, Nate and Martha ran in front of him and stood in his way. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way!" Skuntank growled.

Martha shook her head, "I'll never back down!"

Koffing had recovered from the attack and started floating over, "Chief! I'll help!"

Before he could get closer, he got zapped by Nate's Thunder Shock. "It's not smart to talk when you're using a Smokescreen for cover," Nate lectured. A Reviver Seed floated out of Skuntank's bag into the smoke, presumably to Koffing.

"All right, that's it!" Skuntank shouted. "You want to fight me? Take this!" Bright purple claws extended from his paws and he slashed at both Nate and Martha. Nate grabbed Martha and doubles of them started appearing all around Skuntank. The pair that he slashed through fizzled and vanished. All of the doppelgangers gradually fanned out, becoming a wider circle, until he couldn't see them because of the smoke.

He looked around, "You can't hide forever!" Just then, another Reviver Seed floated out of his Treasure Bag and into the smoke. Soon after that, Water Gun attacks started being shot towards the general area where he was. 'Damn it! Can't trust those two to do anything right!' "Zubat! This smoke is more trouble than it's worth! Once you're up, use Defog and clear it out!"

Raising his voice made him a clearer target, but he didn't care. 'Once this smoke's gone, I'll thrash them myself.' Right at that moment, Maribel dived down at him, covered in an orange electric-like aura, and struck him straight in the head. Skuntank felt a huge majority of his strength leave him as orange electricity crackled across his body. **(AN: Endeavor; deals damage equal to opponent's health minus user's health. It didn't have an anime definition, so I made one.)**

Maribel flew back up and her badge had already been glowing. But twenty seconds hadn't passed yet, so she pressed the badge with her wing and then vanished before Skuntank had a chance to counterattack.

Skuntank wasn't deterred. 'That bird thinks she made a difference, but she didn't!' He took out a Sitrus Berry and ate it to restore his energy. Soon, blue sickles of energy swept the Smokescreen away.

Team Skull regrouped, as did Team Rapid. Skuntank laughed, "Chaw-haw-haw! You might've gotten the Perfect Apples, but it wasn't smart letting your little birdy fly off with your Treasure Bag. We'll still show you not to cross us!"

Skuntank shot a cloud of Toxic gas at Psymon, and he couldn't hold his breath long enough. Even though he was poisoned, Psymon's eyes glowed blue and he gripped his head. Koffing was suddenly outlined in blue and couldn't move, being gripped in Psymon's Confusion. Koffing was thrown back into the giant tree, which was now empty of Perfect Apples, and he passed out.

Nate and Martha went for Skuntank, trying to take him down. Unfortunately, Skuntank dodged Nate's Thunder Wave this time, and countered with Flamethrower on both of them. Zubat flew closer to help, but he was suddenly gripped in mid-air. "Not again…!"

Psymon's vision was dimming as he used Disable, and he said, "Ian! I'm holding Zubat still, but I can't stay in much longer! Quick! Finish him off!"

Nate's head quickly turned towards Zubat and he used Thunder Shock, causing Zubat to fall to the ground unconscious. At the same time, Psymon fell over, shaking from the poison. Martha ran over and held up her badge, "You get back to the guild and have them fix you up!" Her badge glowed and Psymon's badge resonated before he was warped out of the dungeon.

Before Martha could get back to the fight, she was slashed from behind. "Chaw-haw-haw! Never take your eyes off your opponent!" Martha fell to the ground, out of the fight, but she was still conscious. Skuntank turned towards Nate. "Now you'll pay! Chaw-haw-haw!"

Nate held his serious expression, staring Skuntank down. But before too long, his mouth started quivering. Soon, he was snickering and it turned into full-blown laughter. Skuntank glared at him, "What's so funny?"

Nate wiped a mock-tear away from his eye, "You are. You might've thought we didn't suspect you would attack us here, but I did. In fact, I was _counting_ on it."

"What?!" Skuntank shouted.

"Let me spell it out for you," Nate grinned. "Where are you and your team, right now? I'll answer for you; you're here. And our recruit, Maribel left with the Perfect Apples, back to the guild, what, five minutes ago? If you're _here_, and she's _there_, who covers for you?"

* * *

><p>"…And that is the full extent of my report, sir." Maribel was standing in front of Chatot with the Treasure Bag in between them, the Perfect Apples laid out. "As far as I know, the rest of my team is still fighting off Team Skull as we speak."<p>

Chatot's expression was unreadable as he took in everything that he had heard from Team Rapid's recruit. Then a vein started throbbing on his head as he said, "I see… Well, _obstacles_ aside, I thank you and the rest of Team Rapid for what you managed to get. You're dismissed."

* * *

><p>"The answer? Nobody. You have no alibi," Nate finished. "We can keep fighting, but every second is more evidence against you."<p>

Martha was in stunned silence as she looked between Nate's smug expression and Skuntank, who looked like he both wanted to get back to the guild as fast as he could and completely throttle the Pikachu in front of him.

Apparently, the former won out, because he pulled out an Escape Orb and said, "This isn't over, you hear?! Not by a long shot! Chaw-haw-haw!" He threw the Escape Orb and shattered it at his feet, warping him and the unconscious Koffing and Zubat out of Apple Woods.

After they were gone, Nate let out a breath of relief and walked over to Martha. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, but… You planned _all_ of this? Every last detail?" Martha asked.

Nate shook his head, "Not _every_ detail. Several things could've gone wrong. Team Skull could've not shown up, though it was unlikely, Maribel could've been knocked out before she got away with the Perfect Apples – I didn't plan for her to attack Skuntank – they could've regrouped and pulled off that combination during the battle. Also, I was totally bluffing about baiting him to continue fighting. That Flamethrower kind of put me at my limit. In any case, can you stand? We need to get back to the guild ourselves."

Martha nodded, and she managed to shakily stand with a bit of effort, "I'll have to take it easy on the way back, but I think I can manage. Although, I have to wonder, just who _were_ you if you could plan something that efficiently?"

Nate smiled as "Ian" and said, "I'd answer you if I could." He really would, but that could possibly jeopardize his mission. Even if Martha agreed with his mission, she was kind of loose-lipped. 'Just because she might trust me enough doesn't mean others would.'

* * *

><p>When Nate and Martha got back, they reported to Chatot. He said, "The Perfect Apples were delivered, and your recruit, Psymon, was patched up by Chimecho's Heal Bell. Your day's work is complete. You are dismissed." Then as Chatot was leaving, he seemed to have an afterthought, "Oh, and don't worry about Team Skull any longer. They were banned from the premises."<p>

That night, after dinner, Martha said, relieved, "Well, whatever Team Skull was planning has just been stopped, and it's thanks to you, Ian. You exposed them and got them kicked off of the expedition."

Nate nodded and said, "Hopefully, we never see them again. Well, good night, Martha. Tomorrow, we resume our efforts to get picked for the expedition."

Martha nodded, and the two of them went to sleep for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>With the first day of school drawing nearer and nearer, I'll probably have enough time to write only one more chapter. After that, I need to actually prioritize studying and school over writing. I didn't do so hot last semester, and I need to pick it up. I hope you all understand. And know that writing this story will always be number 2 on my list.<strong>

**-AJ203**


	9. Chapter 9: No Fun with Spoilers

**What's this? Could I be trying to chastise those who didn't play the game before reading this? Nah, you'll see why I made that the title in the chapter.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9: No Fun with Spoilers<span>

"Arrrgh! I can't believe that those weaklings got us kicked off of the expedition!"

Outside of Treasure Town, with the moon being the only witness, Skuntank was pacing back and forth and cursing Team Rapid, particularly that Pikachu, for ruining the plan he'd come up with.

Zubat and Koffing just watched as their leader vented and cursed and paced. There were times when they could speak up to add their opinions and times when it was best to make themselves as unnoticeable as possible. Right now, it was the latter.

After a few more minutes of Skuntank pacing around and using Night Slash on a few bushes to cut them to pieces while fantasizing it being the smug co-leader that had ruined everything for him, Skuntank took a deep breath.

"Whoa-ho-ho. Feel better now, Chief?" Koffing tentatively asked.

Skuntank turned sharply to him, "I'll be all better when we get our revenge on that team of weaklings. You saw what happened last time; I had that fight in the bag! If their little bird hadn't gotten away and ratted us out to Chatot, we would've had them beat!"

Zubat thought and said, "Heh-heh-heh. If we could catch them all alone, without them having any contact with the guild… If they stay behind during the expedition, they can't tell on us to Wigglytuff or Chatot."

Koffing smirked, "Whoa-ho-ho! That's good, that's good… Let's work on that. And even if those wimps somehow get in, the expedition is guild-exclusive, right? That means that they'll probably split up when they travel. We tail them and wait for them to be alone, then bam! We take them out. Whoa-ho-ho!"

"Right…" Skuntank grinned, "Our original plan was to get in on the expedition, and if we stick around lying low after we take them out, and the treasure's found, we go back to our original plan of knocking out the guild's crew and then nabbing it. Chaw-haw-haw!"

* * *

><p>Nate and Martha promptly showed up for the morning address the next day. Martha had been getting better about waking up with Nate's first attempt, if only to escape the shock that he'd use if she tried sleeping in. Nate heard Wigglytuff ask Chatot where "his friends" were. Chatot said, "Forgive me, Guildmaster, but they will be unable to attend the expedition."<p>

"Oh… Okay!" Wigglytuff didn't lose his cheer for a moment. But that was probably because Chatot didn't tell him the reason why they were banned. He would prefer to keep the guild and the cliff where they were in one piece.

Chatot breathed a quick sigh of relief before turning back to the apprentices and clearing his throat, "Ahem. One last item. Tomorrow or the day after… Or perhaps in several days' time… We plan to announce the members of the expedition party."

The other apprentices were really happy about that. As they cheered, Chatot said, "Everyone, this is your last chance to make an impression. Work hard and impress us if you want to be chosen. All right, everyone. Let's get down to work as usual."

"HOORAY!"

After everybody left for their posts, Chatot called out to Nate and Martha, "Ah, you two! Your assignment is to do listed jobs today. Understood? We're counting on you. That's all." The two of them nodded, and started leaving for the upper underground floor. But as they passed the ladder, another voice called out for them.

"Meh-heh-heh! Hey, you two over there…"

Nate and Martha turned towards the sound of the voice, and they saw Croagunk waving for them to come over. They walked over and Croagunk said, "Meh-heh-heh. I heard that Team Skull got kicked out of the guild. And I saw them following you yesterday with some surly looks on their faces. You have anything to do with them getting kicked out?"

"I suppose," Nate replied. "They tried to sabotage our mission." Technically true, even though he had intended for them to do so. By making it clear that he exposed them, he used himself as bait to take advantage of their anger. 'Although…' Nate thought. 'Perhaps I should be more careful. It's not just me at risk anymore. The rest of the team could've seriously gotten hurt…'

Croagunk shrugged, "I suppose it's got nothing to do with me, but… Meh-heh-heh." He waved his hand, "Anyway, that's not why I called you here. Meh-heh-heh! The waiting's over! It's about my shop. Meh-heh-heh! The Croagunk Swap Shop is back in business!"

Martha tilted her head, "Pardon? The Croagunk Swap Shop?"

"Meh-heh-heh! You heard right!" Croagunk nodded, "I finally finished repairing my Swap Cauldron, which means that I'm finally back in business again! Meh-heh-heh!" He pointed at the cauldron filled with bubbling purple liquid behind him, "You put certain kinds of items in this here Swap Cauldron… And those items get swapped for an item offered up by another Pokémon somewhere around Treasure Town. There are some Pokémon around that have pretty rare items for swapping. So you could end up with a stupendously great swap. Get it? Meh-heh-heh! So if you two feel like swapping items, you bring them to me, all right? Meh-heh-heh!"

Nate and Martha nodded, and Nate said, "We'll keep that in mind."

* * *

><p>"…Maribel, you were here when I got here. Do you know what's going on?"<p>

Maribel turned to Psymon and shook her head, "I was just coming to meet up, as usual, and there was… this."

"Would that the owner of this establishment wouldst speak up presently," Regina added. "We doth dislike being held in suspense."

The three recruits of Team Rapid were waiting at their usual spot in Spinda Café, but there was a huge crowd gathering inside of it. They were still waiting for their leaders, but apparently there was some sort of big announcement to be made by Spinda.

"Wow, there's a crowd." At the familiar voice, the three recruits turned and saw Nate and Martha standing near the entrance. Regina called out to them, "Ian, Martha! Pray, come hither!"

After spotting their recruits, the two of them walked over and Nate said, "Do you know what's going on here?"

Psymon shook his head, "We were hoping you did."

At that point, Spinda raised his hands, "May I have everyone's attention, please! First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules! Today I would like to give you some wonderful news of hopes and dreams!"

Everybody cheered and, after a while, Spinda got their attention by clearing his throat. "Ahem. Thanks to your kind patronage, this café has been quite popular… We've been fortunate to have so many wonderful customers! This shop's pride and joy, the Recycle Shop, is fully operational and has collected many items. We would like to thank you for your kind patronage…" He paused for effect, and then Spinda threw his hands in the air, "By opening a new service!" Confetti blasted in the air and he said, "We're calling it Project P!" More confetti blasted in the air.

One of the audience members, a Mr. Mime, asked, "Project P?" Another, an Octillery, chimed in, "What's that?"

Spinda lowered his arms and said, "This project aims to use that items gathered at the Recycle Shop in order to explore unexplored places. Allow me to explain. Right now at the Recycle Shop, you trade several items in exchange for one of the shop's items. Thanks to everyone's continued recycling efforts, we have gathered a lot of items at the shop. The service will continue to operate in the same manner…"

Spinda clasped his hands, "And now with Project P established… You might be wondering how Project P fits into all of this…" He spun around with his arms in the air, "We'll use the accumulated items to explore unexplored areas! There are still so many places around the world that are waiting to be found and explored. So many secret treasures and challenging puzzles waiting to be discovered… So let's go out and find them! That's what Project P is about!" Spinda stopped spinning and said, "Ah, the pursuit of knowledge…"

Spinda held his hands out to his sides, "And continuing exploration…" Two fans appeared in his hands, and he said, "We'll find dazzling treasures and new exploration areas! (Probably…) And if you bring your discoveries back to the café… You'll get a special deal at the Recycle Shop! This should keep items circulating through the Recycle Shop. The items at the Recycle Shop will become more and more amazing!"

The fans disappeared, and Spinda threw his hands up into the air, "Use the recycled items to explore the world! Don't you think it's a magnificent project, full of hopes and dreams?"

The patrons of the Spinda Café cheered. "Whoa! This is genius!" "It seems so economical!"

Spinda said, "We've already sent out an exploration team to find unexplored areas! There should be new discoveries before long!" He raised a hand in the air "So, everyone! Please keep recycling, more and more every day! Let's all work together and find unexplored areas!"

"HOORAY!"

Martha was excited about Project P, "Amazing! So cool! Recycling leftover items, trading them around… They're bound to turn into unbelievable treasures! And being able to explore the enexplored! Ooh! I'm so excited! We should recycle more!"

Nate sweated a bit at Martha's sudden insistence after they initially didn't pay the Recycle Shop much mind. After all, they were just starting out. They barely had enough items for themselves, much less to give away.

After Nate pointed this out to Martha, she pouted a bit, but said, "I guess you have a point, but we ought to keep it in mind."

With that settled, Team Rapid started talking about plans for the day. Maribel and Psymon were going to be rotating on training sessions with Regina, Maribel first, and then they had four outlaw missions for Waterfall Cave. The outlaws that they were to catch were a Surskit, a Chingling, a Butterfree, and a Kabuto. With the advantages of Electric, Flying and Bug moves, they decided that Maribel and Regina would be traveling with them that day. Psymon nodded and said that he'd keep an eye out for the data being switched and take any prospective jobs that he spotted while they were gone.

Nodding, Nate, Martha, Maribel and Regina left to go to Marowak Dojo. From training that day, Nate learned Thunderbolt, Martha learned Quick Attack, Psymon learned Water Pulse, Maribel learned Whirlwind, and Regina learned Bug Bite.

* * *

><p>"Ha-ha! You've fallen right into my trap!" After the Chingling outlaw said this, several Pokémon appeared in the room. 'A monster house! Martha told me about these. The Pokémon shouldn't be too big a threat, but we don't want to get boxed in.'<p>

As if reading his thoughts, the wind started picking up and two of the minions in front of Chingling were blown away. Maribel said, "I'll handle crowd control! You all get the leader!"

Regina buzzed forward and used Gust to knock away a Tangela in her way, "You cannot hope to stand against us and our team!" She rushed the outlaw and bit down on the back of his head using Bug Bite.

"Agh!" Chingling shook back and forth, "Get off of me!"

"Never!" Regina bit down again.

Nate used Thunderbolt to clear out a group of water Pokémon, and Maribel took down a Tangela and a Barboach using Wing Attack. Martha used Quick Attack and rushed a Psyduck, taking it down before it had a chance to do anything.

The outlaw finally shook Regina off and said, "Take this!" The rope-like extensions on his head stretched out and grabbed onto Regina using Wrap. Regina squirmed, and Chingling laughed, but he was tapped on his shoulder. After he turned around, he was grabbed and slammed into the ground by Nate, knocking him out. **(AN: In case it isn't clear, that's Slam.)**

The ropes around Regina untied, and the last of the minions were blown away into the water by another Whirlwind, courtesy of Maribel. After Nate warped Chingling away with his wanted poster, Team Rapid took a good look around the room for the first time.

Nate whistled, the room was full of Poké, "Huh. Martha, you told me about monster houses before, do they usually have this much reward?"

Martha nodded, "They're dangerous, but they usually have a lot of money and/or items in them, sometimes even rare items. If you can overcome the challenge, then you can pick them up. However, in strong dungeons, exploration teams often take a large accumulation of items to be a sign to steer clear."

Maribel said, "Well, we didn't exactly have a choice to steer clear. The outlaw was waiting to ambush us."

"In our opinion, 'twould be best if we simply collected our spoils of victory and moved on," Regina suggested. "There are two more missions we've yet to accomplish, and we'll not get them done by discussing the minutiae of ambush tactics."

The rest of the team agreed and continued on. The Butterfree outlaw fell easily to Nate's Thunder Shock and Maribel's Quick Attack before he even got more than three feet away. The Kabuto outlaw turned out to be trickier, since she knew Mud Shot, but Martha defended Nate from it, and he finished the outlaw off with a Thunderbolt.

Martha looked extremely uncomfortable covered in mud and, before they warped out, she said to Nate, "You owe me, big time."

* * *

><p>After Team Rapid received their rewards, a Reviver Seed and a TM for Rest among them, surprisingly enough, Psymon greeted them and told them that he had found some missions for Apple Woods.<p>

But they were unable to complete those missions the next day, since they were assigned sentry duty yet again. Nate, however, had been catching on to a pattern. Usually, when they were assigned to sentry duty, something important was going to happen the next day. Regardless, they completed their duty for that day, and got their pay.

Contrary to Nate's suspicions, the next day was just like any other. They found two more missions to go to Apple Woods, and they left with Maribel for support. Ordinarily, since one of the outlaws they had to catch was a Grimer, they would've taken Psymon too, but since they had an escort, and therefore needed to leave room for a fourth party member, they decided to take just Maribel. Psymon would be weak against a majority of the Grass-type's, and they had another outlaw to catch that ran away, so they needed speed.

The three of them pulled of the missions with aplomb, despite the escort trying to "help". Some patient explaining from Nate convinced the escort to let them do their job. Thankfully, the meeting place was before any outlaws that they encountered on the later floors.

They received their rewards, including a Gold Ribbon and a TM for Roost, and Nate's suspicions about something important happening today were later confirmed when Chatot said that he had an announcement to make before everyone ate dinner.

The apprentices, including Martha, made their displeasure known, and it took a bit of time for Chatot to calm them down. Nate, however, was already at attention because he knew that it had to be important if it couldn't wait until later.

After Chatot got everybody to calm down, he said, "Ahem! I'm sure the selection of the expedition members has been on everyone's minds. Our Guildmaster has apparently made his final decisions."

Everyone was in awe and cheered, excited that the decision was settled. Chatot continued, "The results will be announced at tomorrow moning's briefing. It's something to look forward to. Now, sorry to have kept you waiting. Without further ado…"

Everybody said, "LET'S EAT!"

After dinner, Martha and Nate were talking about the results of the expedition member selection. Martha said, "It's finally been decided. It's making me sort of nervous."

"We have just as much chance as everybody else," Nate replied. "If we don't get selected, then it simply means that we weren't ready yet."

Martha nodded with a slight smile, "You're right. We've worked hard and done everything that we could to make a good impression. If we don't get selected, then we should cheer for those that did. I'll have no regrets." She yawned, "I'm getting tired. Let's go to sleep. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's announcement. Okay, good night."

Nate nodded, and the two of them lay down on their beds. Nate thought about what Martha said. 'No regrets, huh? You're still a terrible liar, Martha. I can tell that this means everything to you.' Nate let out a mental sigh, '…If we're not chosen for the expedition party… Martha will be crushed. I know that it's a great honor, but I don't really care, since it's not what I came here to do. I hope you get picked, Martha… You're trying so hard to achieve your dream. If we both get chosen, I promise I'll help you.'

Martha was already soundly asleep, so Nate let out a chuckle out loud, 'When I first arrived, all I cared about was my mission. Martha's softness is getting to me. But I'm causing changes in her too; she grows more confident by the day. Will all of that be undone when…?'

'…'

Nate pushed the unwelcome thought away and adjusted himself to get more comfortable on his bed. 'Thinking about that won't help anything. For now, I should get some sleep. And I still have yet to find out anything about the Hidden Land or Relic Fragment. But I don't even know where to ask… Maybe Chatot will know something, but it'll have to wait until after the expedition.'

As Nate fell asleep, he let out a sigh out loud through his nose, 'I hope your mission is going better than mine, Grovyle.'

* * *

><p>Deep within the recesses of Limestone Cavern, Grovyle passed a large green treasure chest, fully knowing that it was a red herring. He had managed to make good time crossing the southern peninsula. The assurance that his friend and partner was alive and well helped spur him on.<p>

They were working together now, and their mission was now one step closer to completion.

"There it is! Another Time Gear!" He walked up and saw the gear floating in the middle of where the path ended.

"This is the second one! Three more Time Gears remain. I must have them…" As Grovyle was thinking out loud, he remembered the problem with the last three.

'From here on out, my activities will be widely known… And exploration teams hunt down wanted Pokémon… Nate, I hope that it doesn't come to that, but we both swore that we'd see this through to the end…'

With that, Grovyle reached up and took the Time Gear.

* * *

><p>The next morning, all of the apprentices of the guild waited in suspense as Chatot cleared his throat. "Now then. I shall announce the expedition members at this time." He turned towards Wigglytuff, "Guildmaster, the memo, please."<p>

Wigglytuff nodded and handed Chatot a piece of paper with some writing on it. Chatot turned back to the apprentices and held up the paper, "The chosen members are written on this memo. Step forward if your name is called."

The apprentices murmured to each other nervously, but they went quiet again when Chatot started speaking.

"Without further ado, I will announce those who've been chosen." He held the paper in front of himself, "Our first member… Loudred!"

"Y-yes! I DID IT!" Loudred cheered. He walked forward, "But if you really think about it, it's only NATURAL that I would get picked! WOO-HOOOO!"

The other apprentices could see right through his bluster, though he tried to deny how nervous he'd been. Regardless, Chatot continued, "Next up is… Corphish!"

Corphish cheered, "Hey, hey, hey! Got it! I got picked! Hey, hey!" Inside though, he let out a sigh of relief before he moved up to stand next to Loudred.

"Next is… Oh, what's this? Well this is a surprise! Our next member is Bidoof!"

"Really?! Really and truly?!" Bidoof seemed just as surprised as Chatot was. "Golly… Me?! I'm going on the expedition?!" After a bit of time, with Bidoof standing still, Chatot said, "Hm? Is anything the matter, Bidoof? Come on, step forward."

Bidoof replied, "Urf… I sure want to step up, I truly do, but… I'm feeling a might overwhelmed here. My legs aren't moving…"

"So be it. We'll ignore it and move on." Chatot held up the paper to read from again, "Next we have Sunflora and Chimecho!"

"Oh? Us too?" Chimecho asked.

"Eek! Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squealed.

Chatot nodded, "Erm, yes… And there we have the expedition party members!"

Nate let out a sigh through his nose as he heard a sound of disappointment from Martha behind him, 'Well, looks like it just wasn't meant to be… I hope I can make Martha understand that things like this come with experience.'

"So that's it for the expedition members… Erm… What's this…?" Everyone turned to face Chatot as he tilted the paper sideways. 'There's something scribbled on the margins of this memo…' Chatot thought. 'The Guildmaster's writing is such a messy scrawl… This is so hard to decipher… Erk! If I said that aloud, the consequences wouldn't be pretty. Best to keep a stiff upper beak and swallow those words.'

Seeing everybody looking at him expectantly, he said, "Erm… It appears that there are more expedition members. The others are… Diglett, Dugtrio, and Croagunk. Oh, and Martha and Ian." The remaining apprentices perked up, and Chatot said, "That is all." Then, what just happened registered, and he said in shock, "Wait a second! What?! What?! Whaaaat?!"

Chatot turned to Wigglytuff, "Guildmaster! This list seems to include… every member of the guild!"

Wigglytuff nodded, "Yup! That's right!"

Chatot continued, "Well then! It seems that the whole selection process was meaningless. Moreover, if we were to all go, we would be leaving the guild empty! Are you sure it will be all right to leave with no one to look after the guild?"

Wigglytuff nodded again, "It'll be fine. We'll lock up properly." He turned to the address the room, "So that's how it is, everyone! We're all going on the expedition, and it will be fun, fun, fun! Let's all do our best!"

"HOORAY!" everyone in the room cheered. Even Nate found himself swept up in the moment.

Chatot groaned and murmured, "Well, that's settled." He shook his head and said, "Fine. Let me explain the schedule. Right after this, I will hold a briefing on the expedition. As such the chosen members (that is, everyone)… Each of you should get prepared to embark on the expedition.

"Let me remind you that this is a guild-exclusive expedition. You may not bring nonguild members of your teams. As such, you won't be able to add members at Chimecho Assembly. They simply aren't allowed to join the expedition. Keep that in mind while you are making preparations. When you are prepared for the upcoming journey, you should return here. Then, inform me of your readiness. That is all. Dismissed!"

The apprentices huddled up after Wigglytuff left into his chambers and Chatot waited by the door.

Sunflora cheered, "I could scream, I'm so happy! Everyone is going on the expedition!"

"Our Guildmaster has done it again," Chimecho agreed. "I'm so shocked, I'm tingling!"

Martha shook her head in disbelief, "I wasn't expecting us to be picked, so that was a total surprise! I'm glad we never gave up!"

"Hey, hey!"

After Corphish's explanation, Bidoof sniffled, "…By golly, I'm mighty happy that they're even letting me go on this here expedition… Oh, but not just me! Why, everyone gets to go… Sniff… It's like I'm dreaming. It's making me feel mighty emotional…"

"It's no dream," Dugtrio corrected. "This is really happening. Anyway, since we are all going, it means that we're all going to be put to the test as well. That's why I would like to propose that all of us apprentices work as one. And let's make this expedition a success!"

"Yippee! That's the spirit!" Sunflora cheered.

Loudred shouted, "Yeah! THAT'S the spirit!"

"Let's do our best!" added Chimecho.

Bidoof sniffled and Martha said, "Let's band together and do it!"

Everybody cheered, and they soon dispersed to begin getting ready for travel.

* * *

><p>On the way to Treasure Town, Nate noticed that the Treasure Bag felt weird again. When he opened it, he noticed that there was another note somehow taped to the inside of the flap. Once again, it was from the Exploration Team Federation, rewarding them with an enlarged Treasure Bag.<p>

When he brought this to Martha's attention, she nodded and said, "Oh! Ian, could you go ahead and let the recruits know that they have time off until further notice? I'll take the Treasure Bag and stock up on items for the trip."

Nate nodded and passed the Treasure Bag on to Martha before heading to Spinda Café.

* * *

><p>Team Skull watched the two leaders from Team Rapid split up from the trees surrounding the crossroads.<p>

"Whoa-ho-ho! So wimpy and company actually made it on the expedition."

"Well, color me surprised! Heh-heh-heh!"

"Chaw-haw-haw! That means that we'll get our revenge with the treasure of the expedition."

"Heh-heh-heh. So we tail whatever group they wind up in?"

"Yes. Chaw-haw-haw! I want to give them special attention before we get to the rest of our plan!"

* * *

><p>After explaining everything to the recruits, and receiving their wishes of good luck, Nate left up the stairs of Spinda Café and waited for Martha to return. Once she did, she seemed extra happy about something.<p>

"Ian, Ian! I was passing by Kecleon Market, and they had them done!"

Nate raised an eyebrow, "'Them', what?"

Martha hopped up and down in excitement, "Remember a week ago, when we started training at Marowak Dojo, how I left to go drop off all our items at storage?" Nate nodded, and she continued, "Well, I dropped something off at Kecleon Market to be refined and made into this!"

She reached into the Treasure Bag and pulled out a necklace. The string made out of woven Spinarak silk, and at the bottom was a blue oval-cut gem fixed into a metal plate with a ring at the top for the string to go through. And it wasn't just any gem; it was the one that they had excavated from Waterfall Cave. It was considerably smaller than it was when Psymon pulled it out, but it was cut and polished to be more dazzling.

Nate stared at it for a moment before looking at Martha, "Why…?"

Martha handed it to him and pulled out a matching necklace with the purple gem, cut, polished and fixed to the string in the same way. "I wanted to have them made into good luck charms, and it was just perfect timing that they were finished today!"

'Great… Now I have a physical reminder of how close she's gotten to me.' But Nate couldn't refuse the gift, so he put it over his neck. Martha squealed and put hers on too before leading Nate back up the steps of the guild.

* * *

><p>After everyone reported back to the guild for briefing, Chatot glanced around, "All accounted for, it appears. Well then. Let me explain about this expedition. First, the objective: the exploration of Fogbound Lake."<p>

Nate's ears perked up, and Martha asked, "Fogbound Lake?"

Chatot turned to Martha and Nate, "Correct. It is a lake that is said to be located far to the east. However, it is perpetually enshrouded by a dense fog. As such, its actual existence has never been confirmed… It is merely the foggy mirage of a spot that lives to this day on rumor alone."

Although Nate's face was passive, his thoughts were buzzing, 'He had mentioned that it was a lake to the far east a while back… But I had been too tired that day to think much of it! The guild wants to explore _that_ lake?!' Eventually, they calmed, 'Very well, then. Looks like I'll be helping both ends with this expedition.'

"It is also rumored… A treasure of exquisite beauty is hidden there!" Chatot finished, drawing Nate's attention back to the conversation.

"Wow! Treasure?!" Martha marveled. "We're going on a treasure hunt! This is so exciting!"

Wigglytuff laughed, "Yup! It will be fun, fun, fun!"

'"Treasure", eh? Well, that's one way to put it. This expedition just got a lot less suspenseful for me. It's no fun if you know the end already…'

"Everyone," Chatot called, "open your Wonder Maps, please."

Everyone did so, and Chatot held up his own. As the continent drew itself on the map, he pointed to the far east, where it was obscured by clouds. "First off… This is where Fogbound Lake is said to be. As an uncharted territory, the area is shown under a cloud cover." Gripping the map with his left wing, he pointed with his right at the small cluster of tent-like buildings on the western edge of the continent, "Our guild is here. As you can see, the lake is at a considerable distance from the guild."

He pointed with his left wing again, indicating a forest with fog drawn among its picture, "Therefore, we will encamp at the foot of the highlands here. That will serve as our base camp. If we were to travel all at once in a single group to the base camp, our mobility would be restricted. The strategy is to split up into several groups to travel to the base camp."

Chatot rolled up his map and the apprentices did likewise. "I will announce those groups now. The first group is Sunflora, Loudred, Diglett, and Croagunk."

The four Pokémon in question looked at each other, and Loudred said, "You guys! You'd better NOT hold me back!"

"You should talk!" Sunflora retorted.

Chatot ignored them and continued, "The next group is Dugtrio, Chimecho, and Corphish."

"We're a solid group!" Dugtrio proclaimed.

Chimecho nodded, "I promise to try my best!"

"Hey, hey, likewise!" Corphish agreed.

"Erm… Let's see…" Chatot thought about how to divide up the remaining Pokémon. He turned to Wigglytuff, "The Guildmaster and I shall travel as a pair… That is acceptable, yes?"

Wigglytuff pouted and moaned, "Awwwww?! I have to go with Chatot?! That's so boooooring!"

Chatot cringed, "Please don't be difficult. This is a key element of our strategy."

Wigglytuff pouted some more, "…Meanie."

Shaking it off, Chatot turned back to face the apprentices and said, "The final group is Martha, Ian, and Bidoof."

The three looked at each other, and Bidoof said, "We're in the same group! I hope I can keep up. Yup yup!"

Martha nodded, "Same here, Bidoof!"

"Well then…" Chatot said. "Everyone, let's get to it and move out!"

"HOORAY!"

* * *

><p><strong>Cutting it off here because it seems to be an adequate stopping point. Also, classes start tomorrow, so writing is officially pushed to the #2 spot. I'll fit it in when I can, but I have to put studying first. See you when I see you!<strong>

**-AJ203**


End file.
